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[neverminded]

Hi there,
as I'm new to Outerra, just wanted to say that this is the greatest earth simulating piece of software I've ever seen! Really great work!
I only have a question about future models implementations: Is a jet planned? I really love flying planes in sims, but the cessna is a bit too slow for me 

[Luishi5k0]

Once they allow models to be imported I believe we will be able to import/ make our own vehicles and configurations for them. Maybe you can fly that SR-75 I made.

[neverminded]

Well, the SR-75 would really be a temptation

[Luishi5k0]

You can see it in the "Post Your 3D Models" thread, I'm gonna start on a B2 model, I'm not too happy with how little detail the SR-75's cockpit has, so I'll make sure to make it better on the B2.

[SilentEagle]

While models can't be imported, you can satisfy your desire to fly faster planes if you find a good jsbsim flight model created for flight gear that can be easily converted to use in Outerra.  Here's a recent X-15 test flight over the CA-NV range where I shattered Joe Walker's altitude record from 1963.

[neverminded]

That sounds amazing! I was not able to find an information of how to do that, do you have a link to that information?

[SilentEagle]

Unfortunately, I can't just re-release someone else's work modified, but I can show you where to get the files.

http://www.flightgear.org/download/aircraft-v2-6/

That link contains aircraft downloads for Flight Gear.  Many of these models use the jsbsim flight dynamics model, but watch out, because some use YASim instead, which is incompatible with Outerra.  The X-15 was one of the easiest planes to convert to use in Outerra.

Download the X-15 from that site, then take the X15-new.xml file from the main directory and place that in your outerra directory /jsbsim/aircraft/c172r/.  Back up the original c172r.xml file and rename the new X15-new.xml file to c172r.xml.  While the X-15's engine config files (the XLR-99) already come with the jsbsim version packaged with Outerra, many aircraft you may want to try will require you to pull the engine and the nozzle/prop/rotor file associated with the engine from the Engines/ folder of the downloaded aircraft and place them into the /jsbsim/engine/ folder for Outerra.

Keep in mind that the X-15 and a few other aircraft are fully compatible, but most are not.  Flying other aircraft took some heavy xml editing on my part to even get them working in Outerra, as I don't believe Outerra currently reads or runs any of the systems files for aircraft and there is no way raise/lower landing gear or use any aircraft that has more than one engine.  On a few aircraft, I actually had to zero out the effects of drag and pitching moment on the use of landing gear.  Other aircraft, such as the P-51 use complex engine modelling which requires the use of systems files, so even after I got the P-51 running so it wouldn't crash my game, the engine was underpowered and was unable to pick up speed.  Keep these things in mind if you feel like the aircraft is not behaving as it should.

[Luishi5k0]

That is amazing! It felt so cool flying at 700 knots near the ground. I cannot wait for having models imported so I don't have to feel weird flying the Cessna at that speed. It seems like the X15 runs out of fuel or something after a while. I can fly for a good minute or so until I run out of fuel and crash into the ground.

[SilentEagle]

http://jsbsim.sourceforge.net/X-15.html

It only has 90s of burn time   That's why they launched from B-52s at 45,000ft and were able to reach 67 miles high and mach 6.72.

[Luishi5k0]

Very cool! It makes me not want to make airplane models anymore though because after seeing that site, it has everything I wanted to make already. Maybe I'll shift towards sci-fi vehicles instead. I was just working on the B-2 But it seems like that site already has it all done. Might as well do new things. Thank you for posting that site though, I can't wait to start importing those vehicles in.

[neverminded]

Thank you SilentEagle for a hell of a ride

[SilentEagle]

Keep in mind that those aircraft developers may not wish to release their aircraft for use in Outerra, so you may still have a job in creating those models. 

If you would like a readout of your true airspeed, mach number, altitude in miles, total fuel remaining, percent of air density/pressure of sea level, etc. (which is not possible with current version of Outerra), I wrote some code into the xml to calculate these things and output it to either another plotting program (stripchart found here: www.jsbsim.org/stripchart.zip) or to a .csv file for later viewing.

Below the line     <flight_control name="X-15">  insert these lines:

Code: [Select]

        <channel name="Conversions">

            <fcs_function name="fps_2_kts">
                <function>
                    <product>
                        <property> velocities/vt-fps</property>
                        <value> 0.59248380129589 </value> <!-- Conversion from 1 fps to kts -->
                    </product>
                </function>
                <output> fcs/vt-kts </output>
            </fcs_function>

            <fcs_function name="Pressure_normalization">
                <function>
                    <quotient>
<property>atmosphere/P-psf</property>
<property>atmosphere/P-sl-psf</property>
                    </quotient>
                </function>
                <output> fcs/P-norm </output>
            </fcs_function>

            <fcs_function name="Density_normalization">
                <function>
                    <quotient>
<property>atmosphere/rho-slugs_ft3</property>
<property>atmosphere/rho-sl-slugs_ft3</property>
                    </quotient>
                </function>
                <output> fcs/rho-norm </output>
            </fcs_function>

            <fcs_function name="ft_2_mi">
                <function>
                    <quotient>
<property>position/h-sl-ft</property>
<value>5280</value>
                    </quotient>
                </function>
                <output> fcs/h-sl-mi </output>
            </fcs_function>
        </channel>
Also at the end of the config file before the line  </fdm_config> put this code:

Code: [Select]

<output name="localhost" type="SOCKET" port="1138" rate="20">
<property>fcs/vt-kts</property>
<property>velocities/mach</property>
<property>fcs/h-sl-mi</property>
<property>propulsion/total-fuel-lbs</property>
  </output>
 
  <output name="X-15_test_flight.csv" type="CSV" rate="20">

<property>fcs/vt-kts</property>
<property>velocities/mach</property>
<property>fcs/h-sl-mi</property>
<property>propulsion/total-fuel-lbs</property>
<property>accelerations/n-pilot-z-norm</property>
<property>fcs/P-norm</property>
<property>fcs/rho-norm</property>
<property> aero/qbar-psf </property>
<property> attitude/phi-rad </property>
<property> position/h-sl-ft </property>
<property> velocities/vc-kts </property>
<property> fcs/throttle-cmd-norm </property>
<property> fcs/elevator-cmd-norm </property>
<property> fcs/pitch-trim-cmd-norm </property>
<property> propulsion/total-fuel-lbs </property>
<property> flight-path/gamma-rad </property>
<rates> OFF </rates>
<velocities> OFF </velocities>
<forces> OFF </forces>
<moments> OFF </moments>
<position> OFF </position>
<fcs> OFF </fcs>
<propulsion> OFF </propulsion>
<aerosurfaces> OFF </aerosurfaces>
<fcs> OFF </fcs>
<ground_reactions> OFF </ground_reactions>
  </output>

The stripchart program is automatically set to socket port 1138 so if you have two monitors you just start up that program on the second monitor and click "start" and then launch Outerra and when you jump in the plane, the plotter will start showing the data you sent to it.