FlightGear wiki - User contributions [en]

User:Rchiicz

2025-10-26T23:59:20Z

Rchiicz: Replaced content with "==About Me== I started flying simulators with MSFS 3.0 (1988) thru FS95. I have returned to an interest in flight simulation with FlightGear version 2020.3.18."

==About Me==
I started flying simulators with MSFS 3.0 (1988) thru FS95. I have returned to an interest in flight simulation with FlightGear version 2020.3.18.

User:Rchiicz

2024-12-23T00:33:43Z

Rchiicz:

==About Me==
I started flying simulators with MSFS 3.0 (1988) thru FS95. I have returned to an interest in flight simulation with FlightGear version 2020.3.18.

I have very minimal real flight experience:
*A few flights in a Cessna 172 with my dad many years ago.
*Probably a flight or two in his old [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Model_17_Staggerwing Beech Staggerwing] that I was too young to remember.

I was a software engineer for 32 years before changing careers. Now I teach high school math and computer science.

==What I'm Learning==

*Reading everything I can find on configuring and running FlightGear.
*Putting myself through simulated Ground/Flight school via Tutorial and Howto pages.
*Learning about Flight Planning with [[Route manager|Route Manager]] and [[Howto:Create a flightplan]]
**There is an overwhelming number of resources, including:
***[[Kelpie Flight Planner]] (uses FG Data, so you know it is "correct" when flying in FG)
***[https://skyvector.com/ SkyVector] (uses real world data, very informative, may not exactly match FG Data)

== What I'm Contributing ==

# Minor updates to FG Wiki pages as I find errors.
# Maintenance updates to [[B-52F]] aircraft
# I'm playing around with adding jet engine sounds to AI Aircraft. Work in progress.
#*[https://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=40746 Link to a thread on the forum here].
#*As of date 2024-12-22, these sounds work great on the 2024.1 code branch (no zombie sounds).
#*See the included readme if you are building 2020.3 branch and want to fix the zombie sound bug.

==What I'm Flying==

====[[Cessna 172P]]====

*Completed the in-game tutorials (around PHTO)
*Completed all tutorials in [[FlightGear manual|The Manual]] (well, not the Helicopter one...)
*Digging into [[Tutorial Resources]]

====[[B-52F]]====

*Yeah, I really am. Want to experience a totally different flight model without the learning curve of modern airliners.
*It's interesting to fly long routes and play with Route Manager and Kelpie Flight Planner.

== Fun Facts ==

* I finally figured out why I sometimes get loud static from my COM radios, often on final approach. So annoying. It is the radio trying to tune a station that has gone out of range or blocked by terrain. See [[Radio Propagation]].

User:Rchiicz

2023-07-26T10:04:12Z

Rchiicz:

==About Me==
I started flying simulators with MSFS 3.0 (1988) thru FS95. I have returned to an interest in flight simulation with FlightGear version 2020.3.18.

I have very minimal real flight experience:
*A few flights in a Cessna 172 with my dad many years ago.
*Probably a flight or two in his old [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Model_17_Staggerwing Beech Staggerwing] that I was too young to remember.

I was a software engineer for 32 years before changing careers. Now I teach high school math and computer science.

==What I'm Learning==

*Reading everything I can find on configuring and running FlightGear.
*Putting myself through simulated Ground/Flight school via Tutorial and Howto pages.
*Learning about Flight Planning with [[Route manager|Route Manager]] and [[Howto:Create a flightplan]]
**There is an overwhelming number of resources, including:
***[[Kelpie Flight Planner]] (uses FG Data, so you know it is "correct" when flying in FG)
***[https://skyvector.com/ SkyVector] (uses real world data, very informative, may not exactly match FG Data)

== What I'm Contributing ==

# Minor updates to FG Wiki pages as I find errors. (yes! Off and running!)
# Maintenance updates to [[B-52F]] aircraft
# I'm playing around with adding jet engine sounds to AI Aircraft. Work in progress.
#*[https://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=40746 Link to a thread on the forum here].
#*Will submit a pull request when it seems to be working well enough

==What I'm Flying==

====[[Cessna 172P]]====

*Completed the in-game tutorials (around PHTO)
*Completed all tutorials in [[FlightGear manual|The Manual]] (well, not the Helicopter one...)
*Digging into [[Tutorial Resources]]

====[[B-52F]]====

*Yeah, I really am. Want to experience a totally different flight model without the learning curve of modern airliners.
*It's interesting to fly long routes and play with Route Manager and Kelpie Flight Planner.

== Fun Facts ==

* I finally figured out why I sometimes get loud static from my COM radios, often on final approach. So annoying. It is the radio trying to tune a station that has gone out of range or blocked by terrain. See [[Radio Propagation]].

Boeing B-52

2023-07-26T10:00:37Z

Rchiicz: Updates for latest aircraft enhancements

User:Rchiicz

2023-06-24T01:06:14Z

Rchiicz:

==About Me==
I started flying simulators with MSFS 3.0 (1988) thru FS95. I have returned to an interest in flight simulation with FlightGear version 2020.3.18.

I have very minimal real flight experience:
*A few flights in a Cessna 172 with my dad many years ago.
*Probably a flight or two in his old [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Model_17_Staggerwing Beech Staggerwing] that I was too young to remember.

I was a software engineer for 32 years before changing careers. Now I teach high school math and computer science.

==What I'm Learning==

*Reading everything I can find on configuring and running FlightGear.
*Putting myself through simulated Ground/Flight school via Tutorial and Howto pages.
*Learning about Flight Planning with [[Route manager|Route Manager]] and [[Howto:Create a flightplan]]
**There is an overwhelming number of resources, including:
***[[Kelpie Flight Planner]] (uses FG Data, so you know it is "correct" when flying in FG)
***[https://skyvector.com/ SkyVector] (uses real world data, very informative, may not exactly match FG Data)

== What I'm Contributing ==

# Minor updates to FG Wiki pages as I find errors. (yes! Off and running!)
# Hoping to make maintenance updates to [[B-52F]] ([https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TlqxbaPZP2e_HlSxnLWWGEOaOmR5-59o0OXPwDuRRbw/edit?usp=sharing Current status doc here])
# I'm playing around with adding jet engine sounds to AI Aircraft. Work in progress.
#*[https://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=40746 Link to a thread on the forum here].
#*[https://drive.google.com/file/d/14vggup8MZcdygtw1uT18qpy-pXT8KSpn/view?usp=sharing Link to my current git patch file here] that adds 'generic-airliner-exhaust.xml' to fgdata/AI/Sounds and modifies most AI/Aircraft airliners to use it.
#** copy the file to your machine. Then: cd fgdata ; git apply /path/to/ai-airliner-sound.patch
#** Note: this will modify files in: fgdata/AI/Aircraft, so back up that directory if it is an installed version (not using git to manage it). Or just rename "fgdata/AI/Sounds/generic-airliner-exhaust.xml" to disable it.

==What I'm Flying==

====[[Cessna 172P]]====

*Completed the in-game tutorials (around PHTO)
*Completed all tutorials in [[FlightGear manual|The Manual]] (well, not the Helicopter one...)
*Digging into [[Tutorial Resources]]

====[[B-52F]]====

*Yeah, I really am. Want to experience a totally different flight model without the learning curve of modern airliners.
*Things got WAY BETTER when I discovered how to turn on the instrument panels:
**Use P (shift-p) to turn on 2D panel first, and then use S (shift-S) to toggle the "mini" panel.
*See above for contributions to maintenance of this aircraft.

== Fun Facts ==

* I finally figured out why I sometimes get loud static from my COM radios, often on final approach. So annoying. It is the radio trying to tune a station that has gone out of range or blocked by terrain. See [[Radio Propagation]].

Boeing B-52

2023-06-23T02:41:12Z

Rchiicz: /* External links */ update links to Boeing website

{{:{{PAGENAME}}/info}}
The '''Boeing B-52 Stratofortress''' is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered, strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) since 1955. It was designed and built by [[Boeing]], which has continued to provide support and upgrades. Beginning with the successful contract bid in June 1946, the B-52 design evolved from a straight wing aircraft powered by six turboprop engines to the final prototype YB-52 with eight turbojet engines and swept wings. The B-52 took its maiden flight in April 1952. Built to carry nuclear weapons for Cold War-era deterrence missions, the B-52 Stratofortress replaced the Convair B-36. A veteran of several wars, the B-52 has dropped only conventional munitions in combat.

== Variants ==
Currently only one variant is modeled in [[FlightGear]]:
* '''B-52F''', the aircraft was given J57-P-43W engines with a larger capacity water injection system and new alternators. The aircraft had a problem with fuel leaks, which were eventually solved by service modifications Blue Band, Hard Shell, and QuickClip.

== Aircraft help ==
{| class="keytable"
!Key
!Function
|-
|{{key press|Ctrl|z}}
|Steer right
|-
|{{key press|Ctrl|\}}
|Steer left
|-
|{{key press|K}}
|Toggle trajectory markers on & off
|-
|{{key press|U}}
|Update the drop-view location
|}

* Approach AoA 1.0 deg
* Flaps have only two settings: extended or retracted
* Flap cycle time 60 seconds

=== AP Altitude Mode Controller ===
The altitude mode controller appears as a strip. The meaning of the different modes are:
* AH = Altitude Hold
* TF = Terrain Following
* TO = Automatic Take-Off
* IL = Automatic Instrument Landing
* MC = Mach Climb

==== AH Mode ====
The AH (Altitude Hold) function is intended to hold the aircraft at the altitude set in /autopilot/settings/target-altitude-ft. When engaged, the set altitude can be changed by using the standard FG keystrokes.

==== TF Mode ====
The TF (Terrain Following) function is intended to hold the aircraft at a constant distance above ground level (agl). The separation distance is set in /autopilot/settings/target-agl-ft. It is not currently possible to change this setting from either of the panels - it must be changed via the property browser.

It should also be noted that FG does not currently provide a look-ahead function that could be used for a proper terrain following system so the current terrain following function works by simply checking the agl directly below the a/c. This means that the TF function can only react after the separation has increased or decreased and will not stop you from flying into steep sided ground elevations i.e. cliffs.

==== TO Mode ====
The TO (automatic take-off) mode will attempt to perform a take-off in the direction that the a/c is pointing - there's no way that I know of
to actually track the runway.

You need to be on the ground and with the flaps fully extended before this mode will function.

Once the a/c has achieved 260 kias it will switch to altitude-hold and true heading-hold.

==== IL Mode ====
The IL (automatic instrument landing) mode will attempt to get the a/c on the nav1 ILS heading & then follow it, configure the a/c for landing and get it on to the glideslope, follow the glide-slope down and perform a landing. Both the front and rear landing gear will be correctly aligned for any cross-winds but you will need to steer the front gear as the rear gear are aligned with the fuselage during the roll-out.

The engines and elevator, however, will remain under the control of the auto-landing script until touchdown.

The auto-landing script limits the max descent-rate on the glideslope so you will need to ensure that you're not too high/too close when trying this mode.

It is, of course, not very reliable, but gives some idea of what needs to be done at various phases of landing i.e. getting the speed down and
coping with the huge trim changes required when the flaps are extended.

==== MC Mode ====
The MC (Mach Climb Mode) function is designed to command the highest climb rate that can be sustained for a given mach setting and is only enabled when mach-hold-by-throttle is selected on the AP Speed Controller. This function has some limitations, one being that it works best when the aircraft is travelling below the set mach number and is accelerating to achieve it. If the aircraft is already travelling at the set mach number the climb rate is likely to be very low and it may be necessary to temporarily reduce speed, and then increase it again (using the AP Speed Controller) or force a climb by pulling back on the stick.

* Click on AP Mode to turn off all A/P locks.
* The 2D VFR panel is just a place-holder for the radio instruments - use the 2D mini-panel to control the aircraft (Shift-s).
* Set the Altitude hold and TF/AGL settings via the autopilot menu. If an AP Mode is grayed out it is not available
* Use the yaw display to align the landing main gear in cross-wind landings - the rear gear will center itself once the speed is below the transition speed for normal steering.
* To use Mach-Climb mode click on the light blue M in the speed instrument to select mach-hold mode, set the required mach you want to maintain, select MC and then either turn off speed locks (Ctrl-s) and set the throttles manually or select KIAS hold (yellow K) and set a high speed - this will force the throttles to 100%.

== Development status/Issues/Todo ==
'''Outside:'''
* flaps are animated, but the shape of the wing does not change when flaps are extended. This means we have 2 flaps. One that is animated and another one that is not animated
* cockpit windows are transparent, but you can see the runway instead of the cockpit when looking through them from the outside
* turbines do not rotate
* no aircraft light available
* aircraft has no wheel well area for the landing gears
* no jetstream visible
* nozzle do not change shape when changing thrust
* there are no flaps when using reverse thrust - weapons bay door can't be opened

'''3d Cockpit:'''
* 3d cockpit is not available

'''General:'''
* no engine sound when running at lowest engine power
* aircraft is not set on the correct elevation when starting flightsgear. Lowest part of the aircraft is approximately 0.40 m below the ground
* when you take off,you must close your flaps or you will not be able to fly higher

== External links ==
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-52 Wikipedia article]
* [https://www.boeing.com/defense/b-52-bomber/ Boeing's page about B-52]
* [https://www.boeing.com/history/products/b-52-stratofortress.page Boeing's history page for B-52]

{{Boeing}}

Howto:Make an aircraft

2023-06-23T01:47:34Z

Rchiicz: change refs to aircraft in fgdata (git) to fgaddon hangar

{{forum|4|aircraft development}}

There are many things required to '''develop an [[aircraft]] for [[FlightGear]]'''.

Some suggestions for those relatively new to modeling wanting to contribute models to Flightgear:

* If fidelity is a factor, avoid anything where you cannot find clear high-resolution 3-views or engineering schematics. Don't rely on the cheesy little 3-views found all over the Internet-- the resolution is too low to be useful and they are often not accurate.
* Avoid obscure aircraft where information is scarce.
* Avoid anything with lots of external detail.
* Avoid anything with lots of compound curves.
* Do not start with cockpit modeling, at least not anything more elaborate than very simple GA aircraft. Cockpit modeling is complex and poses some of the most difficult and frustrating challenges in aircraft modeling.
* Excessive 3D modeling is often unnecessary. Much can be done (and in my opinion should be done) through smart use of textures and normal maps.

The advice to start with modeling ground objects like buildings is sound. It's a good way to learn and quickly benefit the community. Another alternative is to try modeling some cockpit instruments. Whatever you do, keep your initial project limited in scope and within your capabilities.

We encourage new [[Portal:Developer/Aircraft|aircraft developers]] to start their 'career' by modifying and 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.

This approach has a number of things going for it that benefit the FlightGear community as well as someone new trying to become an active member of the community. There are currently way too many aircraft in a very incomplete state that need tons of work. By working on these less complete aircraft you help move the ball forward on that aircraft. For someone new to one of the best places to start is doing cockpit work. Since the learning curve is fairly steep (you need to learn a 3D modeling tool plus a lot of other stuff that has been mentioned in this thread) it is best to start with something very simple.

{{FGCquote
|One of the better approaches for a noob is to start out working on improving something that is already there but needs work. It limits the steepness of learning curve and allows you to actually get something done in the short term. This allows you to keep the frustration level down while learning how things work. Only a small % of aircraft development noobs who start a new aircraft without having done some previous work on another aircraft actually manage produce something worth while. It does happen but it is rare - the recent Bonanza work by a noob is an example of one of these rare cases. A much larger % of those who start off doing smaller tasks on existing aircraft end up making a significant contribution either by doing smaller things to a lot of aircraft or by transforming an existing aircraft into something much better (the P-51D is an example of one of these) or after building a decent skill set doing their own aircraft from scratch. 
 
Doing some cockpit work on the X-02 sounds like the next logical step for you. This will allow you to do some 3D modeling (pick something that is fairly simple for your first 3D model) and more XML work and will move you another step up the learning curve while still allowing you to get something working in a relatively short time frame. 
 
We come in all different ages here. Some of us are very old and some are very young and many are somewhere in between. It does not matter. We can all learn new things and if we try we can all contribute something. What matters is your attitude and aptitude and you appear to be on the right track with both..
|{{cite web |url={{forum url|p=213634}}
|title=<nowiki>Re: Idea: Ace Combat Fictional Aircraft Set</nowiki>
|author=<nowiki>hvengel</nowiki>
|date=<nowiki>Fri Jun 27</nowiki>
}}
}}

Things like placards, stream gauges or switches should be where you start. Adding placards is by far the simplest thing you can do for a cockpit and almost any aircraft you pick in the [[FGAddon]] aircraft hangar, even some very advanced models, will need at least one or more placards. Placards also add a lot of cockpit detail for very little effort although for a rank beginner it will still take a significant amount of effort to get a placard modeled and textured and into a cockpit. These do not need animation or any interface to the property tree or any nasal code and only minimal XML. This helps reduce the steepness of the initial learning curve. After doing a few placards you can step up to steam gauges. These will require more extensive XML and also animation and interfaces to the property tree and perhaps even some nasal code and the 3D models will be more complex than that needed for placards. But the 3D models will not be very complex relatively speaking and you will be able to use existing models as a starting place since gauges are build to a set of standard sizes and external configurations at least in modern (IE. WWII and later) aircraft.

Almost any aircraft maintainer should be willing to mentor someone new to add things like placards and gauges to an exiting model. Some will insist on very high standards for anything you do so please try to do quality work. But keep in mind that as a new contributor that the aircraft maintainer will likely spend more time helping you get up the learning curve than the amount of effort it would have taken them to do the same work themselves. So please do enough work on that aircraft to reach at least the break even point for the mentoring effort. Also keep in mind that an aircraft maintainer would prefer that new contributors coordinate with them to prevent duplication of effort and to make integrating the contribution into the aircraft easier.

I also think it is important to work on an aircraft that you have some passion for. This is tedious, detailed, time consuming work that requires a level of dedication to overcome the hurdles involved. If you don't have a certain level of passion for what you are doing you will not persevere. On the other hand doing this work will result in learning a lot about a wide range of things (3D modeling, how to research things, animation, 2D graphics, FlightGear, nasal...) and if you persevere you will find this very rewarding.

One thing that is coming is a better aircraft manager, which will allow aircraft to state their compatibility, so the GUI won't (by default of course) show you aircraft that don't work with your FG version. The problem then is getting more people to maintain aircraft and at least test them + tag them when a new version is being tested. Usually fixing an aircraft is < 1 hour work, with some help, but people are very reluctant to do it. Maybe we need an 'adopt an aircraft' for the unmaintained ones.

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

Probably the easiest way to get a new aircraft going is to find another (similar) JSBSim/YaSim aircraft that is similar to yours and look at how it is setup. Even easier would be to copy that models configuration and then start making modifications to suit your aircraft. JSBSim can be complex depending on how advanced your aircraft is but using the copy and modify approach will allow you to get started and give you a platform to learn new stuff as you make modifications to the configuration.

Additional information is available in a {{forum link|t=6030|text=special forum topic}}.

== Before you start ==
If you are a complete beginner, knowing the processes involved will help out quite a bit. Roughly 4 simplified steps, first creating your 3d model, then the FDM, followed by creating animations and finally to implement systems. Each aircraft in FlightGear has two main development areas:
# The '''[[Flight Dynamics Model]] (FDM)''': This tells the computer how your aircraft reacts to various conditions. The FDM is composed of two main models most people use, either [[JSBSim]] or [[YASim]]. Or the lesser used model [[UIUC]]. Define the dimensions, mass-and-balance data. Tell FlightGear which part of your aircraft and where it may hit the ground. Where the gear is, if and how it travels. How it is propelled and how it flies if you move the controls. A subarea of the FDM are integral systems like the [[autopilot]] and fuel systems.
# The '''appearence''' of the aircraft, which can be split in two areas:
## 3-dimensional model and all of its visual aspects: animations (These give visual feedback from your FDM. Move the aileron of your 3D model when the aileron control is moved. Same for the other aero surfaces, the gear. Than go ahead with the instruments, animate the needles, the digital readouts. Define hot spots and pick animations, so you can click in your 3D cockpit.), [[Howto: Add aircraft lights|lighting]] and textures (images that are put in specific locations on the 3D model).
## Auditory (sounds).

== Introduction ==
There are lots of FlightGear aircraft that need cockpit work. This requires both artistic (create 3D models and textures...) and technical abilities (create XML, perhaps even nasal scripts and gathering information of the thing being modeled). This is also one area were your work is very visible to every day FlightGear users and this makes this effort one that has a major impact of the apparent quality of FlightGear.

This is also a very good place to start working on things in FlightGear. So how do you go about doing this?

* Find an aircraft that is part of the [[FGAddon]] aircraft hangar that needs cockpit work that interests you. This is important the aircraft should be one that you have a fondness for. This work is a labor of love and that will not be the case if you just pick some random aircraft.
* Ask on the forum and perhaps also on the developers list who the current dev for that aircraft is.
* Contact that person and ask them if it is OK to work on that aircraft. They will probably say OK but they will also probably say that you have to work in a certain way and they may go as far as saying OK but I want you to work on <some particular instrument or control>. Don't take this as a snub. The aircraft dev has put a lot of effort into this aircraft and in the end they have to live with whatever you do to it so you have an obligation to do things their way.
* Try to start out with something very simple such as adding a switch (or a switch panel with a few switches) or a placard. This may seem trivial but you will learn a lot from doing something simple while at the same time minimizing the learning curve and your level of frustration.
* Also the aircraft dev will likely have to spend time mentoring you and it may actually take him more time to do this mentoring than it would have taken him to do the work. So stick around and do enough work to that aircraft that the mentoring effort pays off for the aircraft dev.
* Keep in mind that the learning curve is fairly steep and at first the work will take a lot of effort to do what would be trivial task for someone with lot of experience doing this stuff. You need to be ready to deal with the learning curve.

=== Rules and guidelines ===
* All images in FlightGear should be sized to powers of two (eg. 64*64, 128*256 or 16*1024). Most computers cannot handle textures larger than 4096 pixels. 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 {{key press|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 consistently throughout all of your files. But XML files that are used by JSBSim FDMs must use spaces and not tabs.
* Filenames and directories are case-sensitive on most OS's. Windows is not case-sensitive, so when you are developing on a Windows machine, you won't notice any problems. On other OS's, there is a difference between 'Boeing' and 'boeing'. Since FlightGear is used on multiple platforms, make sure your code makes correct usage of capitals!

=== Tools of the trade ===
If you realize this is harder than you expect, don't worry. For the first-timer, the FDM(aircraft.xml), aircraft-set.xml, and the engine.xml files are the easiest. Modeling will require considerable time and practice. You want to have the tools for the job, so here are some tools to help:

* Aeromatic (works only for JSBSim, gives you entire engine file and FDM (aircraft.xml) file.
* JSBSim Commander (Only JSBSim, helps with the multitude of tags, try this on your aircraft BEFORE you release it and AFTER you are finished with all the xmls)
* This wiki
* Flightgear Forum
* Design plans and specifications of your aircraft, including:
** Three-View Plan (shows front view, top view, side view)
** Technical Specifications (from Wikipedia, Boeing, or Airbus)
** '''NOTE:''' Implement the specifications into the xmls
* A friend, and/or another developer, let's say you only want to do the FDM and XMLs. You'll need another person (a modeller) to model. Don't worry, the <author> tag has enough room. ;)
* A lot of patience

== 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. They are explained in this article, but you can skip them if you are working on your first aircraft. 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.

* '''Hint for Developers:''' You can pre-test all your .xml files without having to load FlightGear by opening them with Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. These web browsers will parse XML documents and let you know if you made a mistake coding them.

It's worth noting that FlightGear doesn't expect any particular structure of folders or files, i.e. you could theoretically put things ANYWHERE, as long as you properly reference all files and paths in the top-level aircraft-set.xml file. However, it makes sense to follow some existing conventions (look at other well-maintained aircraft). Some more tips can be found here: [[Standard aircraft structure]] (needs to be updated as of 05/2012). A more recent discussion covering the pros & cons of the various approaches is to be found {{forum link|p=156902|text=on the forum}}.

=== Root directory ===
==== -set.xml file ====
{{Main article|Aircraft-set.xml}}
The most important file describing the aircraft's dependencies is the <tt>aircraft-set.xml</tt> file.

==== .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: Implement pushback|pushback]] (external forces)
* [[UIUC]] (rarely used these days)
With limited data available, YASim is generally considered to be the best way to go. When you have acces to real windtunnel data and/or require more flexibility, JSBSim might be a better choice.

=== Engines/ directory ===
Only required for JSBSim aircraft. In this directory the engine and thruster/propeller files are stored.

=== Models/ directory ===
This directory contains all model related files; such as textures, models and animation files (.xml). In the -set.xml file we've set the path to one .xml file. That file should link (indirect) to each other model file (including a possible 3D cockpit) needed for the plane. The whole plane could be modeled into one file, but most developers prefer to split things up. A cockpit for example can be built up by several files, each existing of just one [[Creating instruments for FG|instrument]] or panel. This way it is easy to (re)move certain parts of the aircraft. You set up your model file like this:

<syntaxhighlight lang="xml">
<PropertyList>

<path>Aircraft.ac</path>

<model>
<name>Cockpit</name>
<path>Aircraft/.../Models/cockpit.xml</path>
<offsets>
<x-m> -5.25</x-m>
<y-m> 0.00</y-m>
<z-m> 1.30</z-m>
</offsets>
</model>

<animation>
<type>rotate</type>
<object-name>AileronLeft</object-name>
<property>/controls/flight/aileron</property>
<factor>-65</factor>
<center>
<x-m> 2.09</x-m>
<y-m>-5.50</y-m>
<z-m>-1.50</z-m>
</center>
<axis>
<x>1</x>
<y>0</y>
<z>0</z>
</axis>
</animation>

</PropertyList>
</syntaxhighlight>

The cockpit.xml file can contain a similair structure, with all the instruments as seperate models. The amount of models is not limited, nor is the amount of animations.

A detailed article about animating and models can be found in [[Howto: 3D Aircraft Models]].

A common subdirectory is the <tt>Liveries/</tt> one, which holds the livery files. See [[Livery over MP]] for more information about that subject.

=== Nasal/ directory ===
All [[Nasal]] code specific to the aircraft is placed in this directory, with the exception of some system or instrument specific Nasal. If a certain Nasal script is usefull for all aircraft (eg. weather or [[Howto: Multiplayer|multiplayer]] related) it can be placed in the <tt>[[$FG ROOT]]/Nasal</tt> directory. Nasal scripts that are useable on multiple aircraft (eg. [[Howto: Air-Air Refueling|air-air refueling]]) can be found in the <tt>[[$FG ROOT]]/Aircraft/Generic</tt> directory.

=== Sounds/ directory ===
What is an airliner without the sound of its mighty engines, or a glider without the sound of wind blowing around your face? Sounds are quite important to increase the feeling that you are actually into the simulation. In this directory all sound files that are specific for the aircarft are stored. Sounds that can be used on multiple aircraft (eg. the click of a switch or thunder) are available in the <tt>[[$FG ROOT]]/Sounds</tt> directory.

=== Tutorials/ directory ===
A helpfull feature in learning how to start the engines of a plane, flying a basic leg etc. is FlightGears tutorial system. It allows you to create a step by step tutorial that guides the user through a certain procedure. It can even indicate what switches should be pressed!

More about the tutorial system can be found at [[Tutorials]].

== Comments in XML files ==
We can place extra information in XML files, that will be ignored by FlightGear. Such as descriptions and explanations of certain XML markups, changelogs etc.

These will be mainly useful to other developers working with your XML code, for example when updating/maintaining your files, or when borrowing XML code from your work.

<syntaxhighlight lang="xml"></syntaxhighlight>

Beware that certain characters are not allowed within an XML file, even within comments, and will always cause problems. This include the characters:

<syntaxhighlight lang="xml">-- < &</syntaxhighlight>

== Cockpit ==

{{Note|The following paragraphs are based on a forum response written by hvengel in 04/2014}}
Traditional Steam gauge cockpits are definitely more modeling than "programming". But in general most people build their cockpits out based what functionality they want to implement next. So you may need a switch to turn something on and off.

In that case the modeling part is almost non-existent since you will likely look at other aircraft and "steal" a switch model that looks like the switches your aircraft uses. By the way we encourage that kind of "stealing" here.

So the "modeling" is done in a matter of minutes although you still need to do things like texturing the panel to create labels for the switch and positioning the switch.
But then you need to setup properties in the property tree, set up animation for the switch and then hook the device controlled by the switch up to the property tree, make the device function and so on. So the "programming" part will dominate for this type of thing. Also for some things the animation code can become fairly complex and there's one device in the P-51D cockpit that has over 500 lines of Nasal and XML just for animation. But most things only need a few lines of XML.

For an aircraft specific control like a retract lever or fuel tank selector it is highly unlikely that you will be able to "steal" one from an existing aircraft and you will need to spend the time to model one.

But the "programming" effort will be about the same as the switch in the previous example. So the modeling effort will dominate. You will also need to create some custom steam gauges and it is typical to need at least an aircraft specific air speed gauge and an engine cluster that are specific to the aircraft. For these find some other gauge that is close and create a new texture for the face and tweak on the animation code and you are done. Still the texture work for these gauges can take some time and effort. For a lot of your gauges you should be able to find one either in Aircraft/Instruments3d or in an existing aircraft that you can use with minimal modification.

What really takes time here is that there is so many little details that make up the cockpit. Dozens of switches, a bunch of steam gauges, radios, various controls... and each one takes time to model, position, animate and hook into the systems they control. And on top of that to really do this right you need to model things like the inside structure of the cabin, the seats, rudder pedals, yoke/stick, the panel, the panel shroud and so on. In other words there is just lots of stuff that needs to be done to make a really nice cockpit and because the pilot is sitting right in the middle of all of it and is fairly close to everything it needs to be well done to not look like crap.

== Related content ==
=== Wiki articles ===
* [[Howto: Make a helicopter]]
* [[FlightGear_Git|How to contribute your aircraft (data developer)]]

=== Forum topics ===
* {{forum link|text=Aircraft development - insights|t=41167}}
* {{forum link|text=How to make an Aircraft....|t=6030}}

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

User:Rchiicz

2023-06-22T06:00:26Z

Rchiicz:

==About Me==
I started flying simulators with MSFS 3.0 (1988) thru FS95. I have returned to an interest in flight simulation with FlightGear version 2020.3.18.

I have very minimal real flight experience:
*A few flights in a Cessna 172 with my dad many years ago.
*Probably a flight or two in his old [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Model_17_Staggerwing Beech Staggerwing] that I was too young to remember.

I was a software engineer for 32 years before changing careers. Now I teach high school math and computer science.

==What I'm Learning==

*Reading everything I can find on configuring and running FlightGear.
*Putting myself through simulated Ground/Flight school via Tutorial and Howto pages.
*Learning about Flight Planning with [[Route manager|Route Manager]] and [[Howto:Create a flightplan]]
**There is an overwhelming number of resources, including:
***[[Kelpie Flight Planner]] (uses FG Data, so you know it is "correct" when flying in FG)
***[https://skyvector.com/ SkyVector] (uses real world data, very informative, may not exactly match FG Data)

== What I'm Contributing ==

* I fixed a minor error in the [[List of abbreviations]] page (yes! Off and running!)
* I'm playing around with adding jet engine sounds to AI Aircraft. Work in progress.
**[https://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=40746 Link to a thread on the forum here].
** [https://drive.google.com/file/d/14vggup8MZcdygtw1uT18qpy-pXT8KSpn/view?usp=sharing Link to my current git patch file here] that adds 'generic-airliner-exhaust.xml' to fgdata/AI/Sounds and modifies most AI/Aircraft airliners to use it.
*** copy the file to your machine. Then: cd fgdata ; git apply /path/to/ai-airliner-sound.patch
*** Note: this will modify files in: fgdata/AI/Aircraft, so back up that directory if it is an installed version (not using git to manage it). Or just rename "fgdata/AI/Sounds/generic-airliner-exhaust.xml" to disable it.

==What I'm Flying==

====[[Cessna 172P]]====

*Completed the in-game tutorials (around PHTO)
*Completed all tutorials in [[FlightGear manual|The Manual]] (well, not the Helicopter one...)
*Digging into [[Tutorial Resources]]

====[[B-52F]]====

*Yeah, I really am. Want to experience a totally different flight model.
*Things got WAY BETTER when I discovered how to turn on the instrument panels:
**Use P (shift-p) to turn on 2D panel first, and then use S (shift-S) to toggle the "mini" panel.

== Fun Facts ==

* I finally figured out why I sometimes get loud static from my COM radios, often on final approach. So annoying. It is the radio trying to tune a station that has gone out of range or blocked by terrain. See [[Radio Propagation]].

User:Rchiicz

2023-06-21T10:03:38Z

Rchiicz:

==About Me==
I started flying simulators with MSFS 3.0 (1988) thru FS95. I have returned to an interest in flight simulation with FlightGear version 2020.3.18.

I have very minimal real flight experience:
*A few flights in a Cessna 172 with my dad many years ago.
*Probably a flight or two in his old [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Model_17_Staggerwing Beech Staggerwing] that I was too young to remember.

I was a software engineer for 32 years before changing careers. Now I teach high school math and computer science.

==What I'm Learning==

*Reading everything I can find on configuring and running FlightGear.
*Putting myself through simulated Ground/Flight school via Tutorial and Howto pages.
*Learning about Flight Planning with [[Route manager|Route Manager]] and [[Howto:Create a flightplan]]
**There is an overwhelming number of resources, including:
***[[Kelpie Flight Planner]] (uses FG Data, so you know it is "correct" when flying in FG)
***[https://skyvector.com/ SkyVector] (uses real world data, very informative, may not exactly match FG Data)

== What I'm Contributing ==

* I fixed a minor error in the [[List of abbreviations]] page (yes! Off and running!)
* I'm playing around with adding jet engine sounds to AI Aircraft. Work in progress.
** [https://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=40746 Link to a thread on the forum here].
** [https://drive.google.com/file/d/14vggup8MZcdygtw1uT18qpy-pXT8KSpn/view?usp=sharing Link to my current git patch file here] that adds 'generic-airliner-exhaust.xml' to fgdata/AI/Sounds and modifies most AI/Aircraft airliners to use it.
*** copy the file to your machine. Then: cd fgdata ; git apply /path/to/ai-airliner-sound.patch
*** Note: this will modify files in: fgdata/AI/Aircraft, so back up that directory if you want to revert. (or just rename "fgdata/AI/Sounds/generic-airliner-exhaust.xml" to disable it).

==What I'm Flying==

====[[Cessna 172P]]====

*Completed the in-game tutorials (around PHTO)
*Completed all tutorials in [[FlightGear manual|The Manual]] (well, not the Helicopter one...)
*Digging into [[Tutorial Resources]]

====[[B-52F]]====

*Yeah, I really am. Want to experience a totally different flight model.
*Things got WAY BETTER when I discovered how to turn on the instrument panels:
**Use P (shift-p) to turn on 2D panel first, and then use S (shift-S) to toggle the "mini" panel.

== Fun Facts ==

* I finally figured out why I sometimes get loud static from my COM radios, often on final approach. So annoying. It is the radio trying to tune a station that has gone out of range or blocked by terrain. See [[Radio Propagation]].

User:Rchiicz

2023-06-21T09:27:31Z

Rchiicz:

==About Me==
I started flying simulators with MSFS 3.0 (1988) thru FS95. I have returned to an interest in flight simulation with FlightGear version 2022.3.18.

I have very minimal real flight experience:
*A few flights in a Cessna 172 with my dad many years ago.
*Probably a flight or two in his old [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Model_17_Staggerwing Beech Staggerwing] that I was too young to remember.

I was a software engineer for 32 years before changing careers. Now I teach high school math and computer science.

==What I'm Learning==

*Reading everything I can find on configuring and running FlightGear.
*Putting myself through simulated Ground/Flight school via Tutorial and Howto pages.
*Learning about Flight Planning with [[Route manager|Route Manager]] and [[Howto:Create a flightplan]]
**There is an overwhelming number of resources, including:
***[[Kelpie Flight Planner]] (uses FG Data, so you know it is "correct" when flying in FG)
***[https://skyvector.com/ SkyVector] (uses real world data, very informative, may not exactly match FG Data)

== What I'm Contributing ==

* I fixed a minor error in the [[List of abbreviations]] page (yes! Off and running!)
* I'm playing around with adding jet engine sounds to AI Aircraft. Work in progress.
** [https://forum.flightgear.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=40746 Link to a thread on the forum here].
** [https://drive.google.com/file/d/14vggup8MZcdygtw1uT18qpy-pXT8KSpn/view?usp=sharing Link to my current git patch file here] that adds 'generic-airliner-exhaust.xml' to fgdata/AI/Sounds and modifies most AI/Aircraft airliners to use it.
*** copy the file to your machine. Then: cd fgdata ; git apply /path/to/ai-airliner-sound.patch
*** Note: this will modify files in: fgdata/AI/Aircraft, so back up that directory if you want to revert. (or just rename "fgdata/AI/Sounds/generic-airliner-exhaust.xml" to disable it).

==What I'm Flying==

====[[Cessna 172P]]====

*Completed the in-game tutorials (around PHTO)
*Completed all tutorials in [[FlightGear manual|The Manual]] (well, not the Helicopter one...)
*Digging into [[Tutorial Resources]]

====[[B-52F]]====

*Yeah, I really am. Want to experience a totally different flight model.
*Things got WAY BETTER when I discovered how to turn on the instrument panels:
**Use P (shift-p) to turn on 2D panel first, and then use S (shift-S) to toggle the "mini" panel.

== Fun Facts ==

* I finally figured out why I sometimes get loud static from my COM radios, often on final approach. So annoying. It is the radio trying to tune a station that has gone out of range or blocked by terrain. See [[Radio Propagation]].

User:Rchiicz

2023-06-21T07:55:14Z

Rchiicz:

==About Me==
I have very minimal real flight experience:
*A few flights in a Cessna 172 with my dad many years ago.
*Probably a flight or two in his old [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Model_17_Staggerwing Beech Staggerwing] that I was too young to remember.

I started flying simulators with MSFS 3.0 (1988) thru FS95. I have returned to an interest in flight simulation with FlightGear version 2022.3.18.

==What I'm Doing==

*Reading everything I can find on configuring and running FlightGear.
*Putting myself through simulated Ground/Flight school via Tutorial and Howto pages.
*Learning about Flight Planning with [[Route manager|Route Manager]] and [[Howto:Create a flightplan]]
**There is an overwhelming number of resources, including:
***[[Kelpie Flight Planner]] (uses FG Data, so you know it is "correct" when flying in FG)
***[https://skyvector.com/ SkyVector] (uses real world data, very informative, may not exactly match FG Data)

==What I'm Flying==

====[[Cessna 172P]]====

*Completed the in-game tutorials (around PHTO)
*Completed all tutorials in [[FlightGear manual|The Manual]] (well, not the Helicopter one...)
*Digging into [[Tutorial Resources]]

====[[B-52F]]====

*Yeah, I really am. Want to experience a totally different flight model.
*Things got WAY BETTER when I discovered how to turn on the instrument panels:
**Use P (shift-p) to turn on 2D panel first, and then use S (shift-S) to toggle the "mini" panel.

== Fun Facts ==

* I finally figured out why I sometimes get loud static from my COM radios, often on final approach. So annoying. It is the radio trying to tune a station that has gone out of range or blocked by terrain. See [[Radio Propagation]].

User:Rchiicz

2023-06-14T22:50:40Z

Rchiicz:

==About Me==
I have very minimal real flight experience:
*A few flights in a Cessna 172 with my dad many years ago.
*Probably a flight or two in his old [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Model_17_Staggerwing Beech Staggerwing] that I was too young to remember.

I started flying simulators with MSFS 3.0 (1988) thru FS95. I have returned to an interest in flight simulation with FlightGear version 2022.3.18.

==What I'm Doing==

*Reading everything I can find on configuring and running FlightGear.
*Putting myself through simulated Ground/Flight school via Tutorial and Howto pages.
*Learning about Flight Planning with [[Route manager|Route Manager]] and [[Howto:Create a flightplan]]
**There is an overwhelming number of resources, including:
***[[Kelpie Flight Planner]] (uses FG Data, so you know it is "correct" when flying in FG)
***[https://skyvector.com/ SkyVector] (uses real world data, very informative, may not exactly match FG Data)

==What I'm Flying==

====[[Cessna 172P]]====

*Completed the in-game tutorials (around PHTO)
*Working through tutorials in [[FlightGear manual|The Manual]]
*Digging into [[Tutorial Resources]]

====[[B-52F]]====

*Yeah, I really am. Want to experience a totally different flight model.
*Things got WAY BETTER when I discovered how to turn on the instrument panels:
**Use P (shift-p) to turn on 2D panel first, and then use S (shift-S) to toggle the "mini" panel.

== Fun Facts ==

* I finally figured out why I sometimes get loud static from my COM radios, often on final approach. So annoying. It is the radio trying to tune a station that has gone out of range or blocked by terrain. See [[Radio Propagation]].

User:Rchiicz

2023-06-07T21:41:00Z

Rchiicz: missing link to Kelpie Flight Planner

==About Me==
I have very minimal real flight experience:
*A few flights in a Cessna 172 with my dad many years ago.
*Probably a flight or two in his old [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Model_17_Staggerwing Beech Staggerwing] that I was too young to remember.

I started flying simulators with MSFS 3.0 (1988) thru FS95. I have returned to an interest in flight simulation with FlightGear version 2022.3.18.

==What I'm Doing==

*Reading everything I can find on configuring and running FlightGear.
*Putting myself through simulated Ground/Flight school via Tutorial and Howto pages.
*Learning about Flight Planning with [[Route manager|Route Manager]] and [[Howto:Create a flightplan]]
**There is an overwhelming number of resources, including:
***[[Kelpie Flight Planner]] (uses FG Data, so you know it is "correct" when flying in FG)
***[https://skyvector.com/ SkyVector] (uses real world data, very informative, may not exactly match FG Data)

==What I'm Flying==

====[[Cessna 172P]]====

*Completed the in-game tutorials (around PHTO)
*Working through tutorials in [[FlightGear manual|The Manual]]
*Digging into [[Tutorial Resources]]

====[[B-52F]]====

*Yeah, I really am. Want to experience a totally different flight model.
*Things got WAY BETTER when I discovered how to turn on the instrument panels:
**Use P (shift-p) to turn on 2D panel first, and then use S (shift-S) to toggle the "mini" panel.

User:Rchiicz

2023-06-07T21:34:40Z

Rchiicz: Created user page

==About Me==
I have very minimal real flight experience:
*A few flights in a Cessna 172 with my dad many years ago.
*Probably a flight or two in his old [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beechcraft_Model_17_Staggerwing Beech Staggerwing] that I was too young to remember.

I started flying simulators with MSFS 3.0 (1988) thru FS95. I have returned to an interest in flight simulation with FlightGear version 2022.3.18.

==What I'm Doing==

*Reading everything I can find on configuring and running FlightGear.
*Putting myself through simulated Ground/Flight school via Tutorial and Howto pages.
*Learning about Flight Planning with [[Route manager|Route Manager]] and [[Howto:Create a flightplan]]
**There is an overwhelming number of resources, including:
***Kelpie Flight Planner (uses FG Data, so you know it is "correct" when flying in FG)
***[https://skyvector.com/ SkyVector] (uses real world data, very informative, may not exactly match FG Data)

==What I'm Flying==

====[[Cessna 172P]]====

*Completed the in-game tutorials (around PHTO)
*Working through tutorials in [[FlightGear manual|The Manual]]
*Digging into [[Tutorial Resources]]

====[[B-52F]]====

*Yeah, I really am. Want to experience a totally different flight model.
*Things got WAY BETTER when I discovered how to turn on the instrument panels:
**Use P (shift-p) to turn on 2D panel first, and then use S (shift-S) to toggle the "mini" panel.

List of abbreviations

2023-06-07T19:34:13Z

Rchiicz: /* I */ Fix typo error, IAF and IAP meanings were reversed.

__NOTOC__

{{abc}}

=== A ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| A || At or Above (constraint altitute) ||
|-
| A || Autotuning ||
|-
| AAR || Air-to-air refuelling
|-
| ACARS || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACARS Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System] || A digital datalink system for transmission of short, relatively simple messages between aircraft and ground stations via radio or satellite
|-
| ACAWS || Advisory, Caution And Warning System. || A system which monitors the aircraft's systems and provides warning messages to the crew (similar to EICAS).
|-
| ACCEL HT || Acceleration Height ||
|-
| ACT || Active||
|-
| A/C || Aircraft ||
|-
| ACC || Area control centre ||
|-
| ADC || Air Data Computer ||
|-
| [[ADF]] || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_Direction_Finder Automatic direction finder] || tuned to [[NDB]]
|-
| ADIRS || Air Data Inertial Reference System ||
|-
| ADIRU || Air Data Intertial Reference Unit ||
|-
| AFCS || Automatic Flight Control System
|-
| AFDS || Auto Pilot Flight Director System ||
|-
| AGL || [[Above Ground Level|Above Ground Level]] || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Above_ground_level AGL]
|-
| ALS || Approach lighting system
|-
| ALT || Altitude || [[Altitude]]
|-
| ALT NAV || Alternate Navigation ||
|-
| AMI || Airline Modifiable Information ||
|-
| [[AMSL]] || Above mean sea level
|-
| AoA || Angle of Attack || The angle of the (nose of the) aircraft relative to the surrounding airflow (Pitch is relative to the ground)
|-
| AIMS || Airplane Infromation Management System ||
|-
| AIP || [[Aeronautical information publication|Aeronautical Information Publication]] ||
|-
| APP || Approach || Used for autopilots among other.
|-
| Apt Elev || Airport Elevation || the MSL of a central point of an airport
|-
| APU || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auxiliary_power_unit Auxiliary power unit] || Primary purpose is to provide power to start the main engines
|-
| A/P || [[Autopilot|Autopilot]]
|-
| ARINC || Aeronautical Radio, Incorporated ||
|-
| ASCPC || Air Supply and Cabin Pressure Controllers ||
|-
| ASEL || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airplane_Single_Engine_Land Airplane, Single Engine, Land certificate] || A particular class rating associated with a pilots certification.
|-
| ASES || Airplane, Single Engine, Sea certificate || A particular class rating associated with a pilots certification.
|-
| ASOS || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_airport_weather_station Automated Surface Observation System] || measures and broadcasts surface wheather info automatically
|-
| AT || AT (an altitude) ||
|-
| ATA || Actual Time of Arrival ||
|-
| ATC || [[ATC|Air Traffic Control]] ||
|-
| ATIS || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_Terminal_Information_Service Automatic Terminal Information Service]
|-
| ATM || Air traffic management || Integrated management of air traffic and airspace. Can include ATC, ATS, flow management etc. through seamless collaboration with involved parties.
|-
| ATS || Air traffic service || A generic term that can mean flight information service, alerting service, air traffic
advisory service or air traffic control service.
|-
| ATT || Attitude ||
|-
| ATZ || Aerodrome Traffic Zone ||
|-
| A/T || Autothrottle || A/P Subsystem which controls the throttle
|-
| AWACS || Airborne Warning And Control System
|}

=== B ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| B || At or Below (constrained altitude) ||
|-
| BC || Back course || part of [[ILS]], beacon that provides range information, like OM/MM/IM, specifies FAF for back course, a back course is non-precison since no G/S associated
|-
| BITE || Built-In Test Equipment ||
|-
| BRG/DIS || Bearing and/or Distance ||
|-
| BRT || Brightness
|}

=== C ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| C || Centigrade ||
|-
| CALC || Calculated ||
|-
| CANC || Cancel ||
|-
| CDI || Course Deviation Indicator || part of a VOR gauge, a needle showing whether you are on course (centered) or not (left or right)
|-
| CDU || [[CDU|Control Display Unit]]
|-
| CG || Center of Gravity ||
|-
| CI || Cost Index ||
|-
| CLB || Climb ||
|-
| CLB DIR || Climb Direct ||
|-
| CLR || Clear ||
|-
| CMCF || Central Maintenance Computer Function ||
|-
| CO DATA || Company Data ||
|-
| COMM || Communications ||
|-
| CON || Continuous ||
|-
| CRS || Course ||
|-
| CRT || Cathode Ray Tube ||
|-
| CRZ || Cruise ||
|-
| CRZ ALT || Cruise Altitude ||
|-
| CRZ CG || Cruise Center of Gravity ||
|-
| CRZ CLB || Cruise Climb ||
|-
| CTAF || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_traffic_advisory_frequency Common Traffic Advisory Frequency] || Available at airfields with no operational control tower.
|-
| CTC || Cabin Temperature Controller ||
|-
| CTOT || Calculated take-off time ||
|-
| CTR || Controlled Zone ||
|}

=== D ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| DG || Directional [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyroscope Gyro]
|-
| DH || Decision height || point on G/S where to decide to continue landing or missed approach, similar to MDA, for precision approaches, determined by altimeter, lowest height where an approach can be flown by instrument alone
|-
| DLC || Direct lift control || system for steady approaches without changing pitch, as seen on the [[L-1011-500]].
|-
| [[DME]] || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distance_Measuring_Equipment Distance measuring equipment] || measures the distance (slant, not on-ground distance) to the tuned in [[VOR]]
|-
| DTG || Distance to go
|-
| DTO || Direct to || GPS function to fly directly to a given point
|}

=== E ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| EAT || Estimated Arrival Time
|-
| ECEF || Earth-Centred, Earth-Fixed coordinate system || Cartesian 3D coordinate system with origo at the Earth's center of mass and x axis intersecting 0°E, 0°N
|-
| EDT || Estimated Departure Time
|-
| EFATO || Engine failure after take off || Usually resulting in a force-landing.
|-
| EFIS || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_flight_instrument_system Electronic Flight Instrument System] || Combination of displays (PFD and MFD) with autopilot
|-
| EICAS || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eicas Engine Indication and Crew Alerting System]
|-
| EOBT || Estimated off-block time || The estimated time the aircraft will start moving before departure. In essence when the aircraft starts to taxi
|-
| ETA || Estimated Time of Arrival
|-
| ETOPS || Extended Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards || Standard allowing twin-engined aircraft (eg, the 777 or A330) to fly long distances between potential alternate airports, eg trans-oceanic flights.
|}

=== F ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| FAF || Final approach fix
|-
| FD || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_director_%28aviation%29 Flight director] || horizontal and vertical bars on your PD
|-
| FDM || [[Flight Dynamics Model|Flight Dynamics Model]]
|-
| FL || Flight Level || [[Flight level]]
|-
| FLEX || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flex_temp Flex Temp] || Performing a take-off (TOGA) at less than full power.
|-
| FMA
|
Flight Mode Annunciator 
Flight Mode Annunciation
| The display of selected autopilot mode(s), typically on the top row of the PFD display in airliners.
|}

=== G ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| G/S || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glideslope Glideslope] || provides vertical guidance during [[ILS]], UHF, always goes together with LOC, usually 3deg, usable 10NM from field
|-
| GA || Go-Around
|-
| GA || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_aviation General Aviation]
|-
| GAR || Go-Around
|-
| GPS || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gps Global Positioning System] || allows a very exact measuring of location all over the world, based on satellites
|}

=== H ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| HDG || Heading
|-
| HUD || [[Head-up display|Head up display]] || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-up_display Head up display]
|-
| HSI || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizontal_situation_indicator Horizontal situation indicator]
|}

=== I ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| IAF ||Initial approach fix ||
|-
| IAP ||Instrument approach plate
|see Approach Plate, aka. Terminal Procedures
|-
| IATA || [[IATA|International Air Transport Association]]
|
|-
| ICAO || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icao International Civil Aviation Organisation]
|-
| [[IFR]] || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IFR Instrument flight rules] || 0-179: odd thousands, 180-359: even thousands
|-
| [[ILS]] || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glideslope Instrument Landing System]
|-
| IM || Inner marker || See [[Inner marker]]
|}

=== J ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| JBD || Jet blast deflector
|}

=== K ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| KIAS || Knots Indicated Airspeed || [[IAS]] in knots
|}

=== L ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| LDA || Localizer directional aid || similar to LOC, but offset from runway heading, the approach path is not lined up with runway
|-
| [[LFR]] ||Low Frequency Radio Range || see article [[LFR]]
|-
| LNAV || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNAV Lateral navigation]
|-
| LOC || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Localizer Localizer] || provides lateral guidance during ILS, VHF, always goes together with G/S, usable 18NM from field
|-
| LOC-A || || an approach plate that ends with a letter indicates that a circling approach is required
|-
| LTA || Lighter than Air
|}

=== M ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| MALSR || Medium-intensity ALS with Runway alignment indicator lights || a type of Runway Approach lighting
|-
| MAP || Missed approach point || touch down zone of runway
|-
| MCDU || Multipurpose Control and Display unit || [[CDU]]
|-
| MCP || Mode Control Panel || Panel that controls the autopilot
|-
| MDA || Minimum descend altitude || during an approach, this specifies the minimum Altitude (MSL) before the runway is in sight and a safe landing can be made
|-
| MEA || Mean enroute altitude
|-
| MES || Main Engine Start || See APU
|-
| METAR || [[METAR|Meteorological Aerodrome Report]] || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/METAR METAR]
|-
| MFD || Multi Function Display unit, sometimes named MDU || Display that can contain all sorts of information, like map, weather and engine status. Often a backup for PFD's
|-
| MIRL || Medium-intensity runway lights
|-
| MLS || Microwave landing system
|-
| MM || Middle marker || [[Middle marker]]
|-
| MOCA || Minimum obstruction clearance altitude
|-
| MSA || Minimum safe altitude || provides minimum of 1000ft clearance from obstructions and terrain
|-
| MSFS || Microsoft Flight Simulator || a flight simulator by Microsoft that is now discontinued
|-
| MSL || Mean Sea Level || Standardized height figure, Altimeters show the current A/C height over MSL
|-
| MTOW || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximum_Takeoff_Weight Maximum Takeoff Weight] ||
|}

=== N ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| Navaid || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navaid Helper for navigation] || eg: [[NDB]], Fixes, [[VOR]], GPS
|-
| ND || [[Navigational Display|Navigational Display]]
|-
| [[NDB]] || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-directional_beacon Non directional beacon] || LW, sends out Morse code of its ID, reception only reliable > 1000ft AGL
|}

=== O ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| OAT || Outside air temperature || the temperature of undisturbed air, derived by correcting TAT for compressibility errors
|-
| OBS || Omni bearing selector || part of a [[VOR]] gauge, used to rotate the course card
|-
| OM || Outer marker || [[Outer marker]]
|}

=== P ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| PAPI || [[Precision Approach Path Indicator|Precision Approach Path Indicator]] || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precision_Approach_Path_Indicator PAPI], similar to VASI, but more precise, uses four lights
|-
| PD || Primary display
|-
| PF || Pilot flying || the person that currently controls the airplane, can be either Captain or F/O
|-
| PFD || [[Primary flight display|Primary flight display]]
|-
| PFL || Practice forced landing || Practise approach carried out to a suitable field. No landing is made.
|-
| PIREP || Pilot Report ||(abbreviated UA in the briefing teletype, UUA is urgent PIREP)
|-
| PNF || Pilot non-flying || the person who's not the PF
|-
| PTS || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Practical_Test_Standards Practical Test Standards] || Guidelines used by the FAA in determining an airmens eligibility to receive their certificate
|}

=== Q ===
===R===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| RAIM || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Receiver_autonomous_integrity_monitoring Receiver autonomous integrity monitoring] ||
|-
| RAT || Ram air temperature || The raw, non-corrected temp. as measured by the temperature probe. Errors due to the Ram effect (air compressed in the probe) and the position (air may be disturbed by parts of the airplane, and also due to the effect of the air compression in front of the plane) RAT may also describe a Ram Air Turbine; a device deployed into the airstream on large aircraft to provided minimum electrical power in the event of generator-failure.
|-
| [[RDF]] || Radio Direction Finder || see article [[RDF]]
|-
| RDH || Reference datum height || Height of the glidepath or a nominal vertical path above the runway threshold
|-
| RMI || Radio magnetic indicator
|-
| RNAV || Area Navigation || flying by longitude/latitude points that are not radio navigation aids, GPS or IRS is usually used.
|-
| RTO || Rejected take off
|-
| RTOW || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximum_Takeoff_Weight Regulated Take Off Weight] || See Maximum Takeoff Weight MTOW
|-
| RVR || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runway_visual_range Runway Visual Range] || The distance over which a pilot of an aircraft on the centreline of the runway can see the runway surface markings delineating the runway or identifying its centre line
|}

=== S ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| SAT || Static air temperature || same as OAT
|-
| SDF || Simple directional facility
|-
| SFDS || Secondary Flight System Display||Standby EFIS in a single self contained unit, not to be mistaken with MFD
|-
| SFD || Secondary Flight Display || Display of the SFDS
|-
| SID || Standard instrument departure || for takeoffs, specifies the route from the runway to the first waypoint
|-
| STAR || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Terminal_Arrival_Route Standard terminal arrival route] || for landings, speciefies the route from the last waypoint down to the runway
|-
| STOL || Short take off and landing
|-
| STOVL || Short take off and vertical landing
|}

=== T ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| TACAN || [[Tactical Air Navigation|Tactical Air Navigation]] || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TACAN Tactical Air Navigation], military
|-
| TAF || Terminal aerodrome forecast
|-
| TAT || Total air temperature || This is derived by correcting the RAT for position. Still contains an error due to the compressibility of air inside the temperature probe.
|-
| TCAS ||[[Traffic Collision Avoidance System|Traffic Collision Avoidance System]]
|-
| TDZE || Touch down zone elevation || the MSL of the touch down point of a runway
|-
| THDG || True Heading
|-
| TODR || Take Off Distance Required ||
|-
| TOGA || Take Off / Go Around || Automatic single-switch operation of throttle for Take-off / Go-Around Power.
|-
| TOW || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximum_Takeoff_Weight Take Off Weight] ||
|-
| T&P(s) || Temperatures and pressures || relating to engine systems.
|}

=== U ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| UNICOM || Universal Communications || See also: CTAF
|-
| UTC || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTC Coordinated Universal Time] || Not to be confused with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_Mean_Time GMT] - Greenwich Mean Time
|}

=== V ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| [[V speeds]] || [[V speeds|Velocity speeds]] || airspeeds important or useful to the operation of aircraft
|-
| VASI || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VASI Visual approach slope indicator] || an approach lighting system, typically two lights left of the runway
|-
| [[VFR]] || [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_flight_rules Visual Flight Rules] || 0-179: odd thousands+500ft, 180-359: even thousands+500ft
|-
| VNAV || Vertical navigation
|-
| [[VOR]] || [[VOR|VHF Omnidirectional Radio Range]] || [[VOR]], a type of radio navigation system
|-
| [[VORTAC]] || VOR/TACAN || A co-located [[VOR]] and [[TACAN]] beacon.
|-
| VS || Vertical Speed ||
|-
| VSI || Vertical speed indicator ||
|-
| VTOL || Vertical take off and landing ||
|}

=== W ===
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:8em;" | Abbreviation
! style="width:20em;" | Meaning(s)
! Description
|-
| WCA || Wind correction angle
|-
| WOW || Weight on wheels || A condition met when the weight of an aircraft are pushing its wheels to the ground, indicating that it is not in the air.
|}

=== X ===
===Y===
=== Z ===

----
==== External links ====
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aviation,_aerospace_and_aeronautical_abbreviations Wikipedia (en)]
* [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abk%C3%BCrzungen/Luftfahrt Wikipedia (de)], more detailed and descriptions are english anyway ;-)

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