ai.cfg

The ai.cfg file is a critical file when it comes to defining an aircraft as it contains the information required to tweak copilot and Air Traffic AI behavior. Below you can find information on the different sections used in the ai.cfg file as well as what parameters and values are expected within them.

 

It is worth noting that if the aircraft is to be used for AI Traffic, then only the following sections/parameters will be used:

[VERSION] - all

[TAKEOFF] - all

[WAYPOINT] - all

[LANDING] - flareAngle

[TAXI] - all

 

You can find further information on setting up an aircraft for AI Traffic from the following section:

 

 

[VERSION]

The [VERSION] section provides version information for the configuration file. In Microsoft Flight Simulator, major versions should always be at least equal to 1. Note that this section information is mandatory and should always be included.

 

Parameter Description Type Required
major Major CFG file version number, values must be greater than 0. Integer Yes
minor Minor CFG file version number, values must be greater than 0. Integer Yes

 

 

[TAKEOFF]

This section controls the different takeoff options for the AI. Available parameters are:

 

Parameter Description Type Required
takeoffFlapsPosition

Desired flaps position during initial takeoff rollout for AI. This is a value between 0.0 and 1.0, where 0.0 is 0% and 1.0 is 100%.

Default is 1.0 Percent Over 100.

 Float No
takeoffVerticalSpeedGround Not currently used by the simulation. Float No
takeoffVerticalSpeedAir Not currently used by the simulation. Float No
takeoffAirspeedAirMultiplier Not currently used by the simulation. Float No

 

 

[WAYPOINT]

This section controls how the AI will deal with taxiway points, specifically the way it will move between them. Available parameters are:

 

Parameter Description Type Required
SlowDownDistance

The distance, in meters, at which the vehicle will start slowing down before reaching a sharp turn or its destination.

Default value is 50.0m.

 Float No
StopDistance

The distance, in meters, from the destination at which the vehicle considers that it has reached its destination, and will start actually braking to reach a full stop.

Default is 2.0m.

 Float
SlowDownOnLastWayPoint

This determines if the vehicle should start really slowing down (but not trying to fully stop either), on the last 5 meters before its destination (TRUE, 1) or not (FALSE, 0).

Default is TRUE.

 Bool
CanReverse

Sets whether the vehicle can reverse (TRUE, 1) or not (FALSE, 0).

Default is TRUE.

 Bool
FrontRadiusMeters

The length, in meters, from the center of the vehicle to the front of it. It is used by the AI to better manage turns.

The default is -1.0m, which means an approximate exaggerated value is computed by using a bounding box on the model.

 Float

 

 

[LANDING]

This section controls how the AI will deal with landing and will be used by both air traffic and the co-pilot. Available parameters are:

 

Parameter Description Type Required
flareAngle

This setting defines the "ideal" flare angle, in degrees, for the aircraft when coming in to land, just after final approach and before actual touchdown.

Default is -1.0°.

 Float No
maxPitchRate

This sets the maximum rotational speed - in degrees per second - to change the aircraft pitch during landing.

Default is 0.33333 degrees per second.

 Float No
horizontalSpeedErrorMultiplier Not currently used by the simulation. Float No
maxThrottleRate Not currently used by the simulation. Float No
maxThrottleSlope Not currently used by the simulation. Float No
correctPitchDeltaMultiplier Not currently used by the simulation. Float No

 

 

[SIMPLIFIEDSIM]

This section defines some characteristics of simplified versions of the Sim Object parameters and flight model that are only for AI aircraft air traffic. AI traffic doesn't care at all about the wind, about remaining fuel, or most of the other world and physical parameters that are important to the user aircraft. The AI aircraft are done this way for performances reasons, but can still visually look correct to the user as long as the following parameters are correctly defined:

 

Parameter Description Type Required
dampingVelocity

This value is used to dampen the aircraft rotational velocity when it is "sliding" on the ground - for example after a sharp turn.

Default is 0.4.

 Float No
brakesRotationDamping

This value is used to dampen the aircraft rotational velocity when it is "sliding" on the ground when brakes are applied.

Default is 0.5.

 Float
headingAccelerationFromBankFactor

Sets the heading acceleration that will be added when the aircraft is banking. This is used - in conjunction with the headingInertia value - as part of the formula used to calculate the change in heading when the aircraft is banking.

Default is 0.004 radians / second².

 Float
headingInertia

Sets the inertia applied to the aircraft heading when aircraft is banking. This is used - in conjunction with the headingAccelerationFromBankFactor value - as part of the formula used to calculate the change in heading when the aircraft is banking.

Default is 0.001 radians / second².

 Float
airspeedAccelerationAugmentationPerFrame

Sets the airspeed acceleration - in ft per second squared - which is added every frame in order to reach the desired vertical airspeed.

Default is 1.0 ft / second².

 Float
altitudeAccelerationPerFrame

This value - in ft per second squared per frame - is added on to the current aircraft altitude, every frame, in order to reach the desired altitude.

Default is 5.0 ft / second².

 Float
verticalSpeedAccelerationAugmentationPerFrame

Sets the vertical speed acceleration - in ft per second squared - which is added every frame in order to reach the desired vertical airspeed.

Default is 1.0 ft / second².

 Float
pitchAccelerationPerFrame

This value - in radians per second squared - sets the pitch acceleration, every frame.

Default is 0.01 radians / second².

 Float
bankAccelerationPerFrame

This value - in radians per second squared - sets the bank acceleration, every frame.

Default is 0.017 radians / second².

 Float
headingAccelerationPerFrame

This value - in radians per second squared - sets the heading acceleration, every frame.

Default is 0.006 radians / second².

 Float
minRPMPct

Percentage over 100 of maximum RPM when the piston/turboprop plane is in "Idle" in Simplified Sim mode, for correct sounds and behavior. Usually between 0.25 and 0.75.

Default value is 0.25 Percent Over 100.

 Float
landingGearAnimPct

Gear Animation Percentage for correct positioning of landing gear when the plane is passive or in Simplified Sim mode on the ground. Usually between 50.0 and 100.0.

Default value is 65.0 percent

 Float
brakesMultiplier Not currently used by the simulation. Float
throttleFactor Not currently used by the simulation. Float
portanceFactor Not currently used by the simulation. Float
spoilersPortance Not currently used by the simulation. Float
flapsPortance Not currently used by the simulation. Float
airResistanceFactorXYZ Not currently used by the simulation.

1D table of 3 Floats

(see Data Types for more information)
spoilersXYZFactor Not currently used by the simulation.

1D table of 3 Floats

(see Data Types for more information)

  
flapsXYZFactor Not currently used by the simulation.

1D table of 3 Floats

(see Data Types for more information)

  

 

 

[STICKANDRUDDER]

This section controls the copilot and autopilot behavior for the AI of the aircraft. Manual editing of these values is strongly suggested instead of letting the sim use the default values so that the AI behavior is more in-line with the aircraft being used. Note that the The headingPID value is also used by non-user AI to control planes.

 

Note that in the following table, all PIDs should be listed in the following order:

  • Proportional Control
  • Integrator Control
  • Derivative Control
  • Integrator Boundary
  • Derivative Boundary

Each value in the list should be a float, for example:

rudderGroundPID = 0.045, 0.001, 0.1, 1.0, 1.0
throttleGroundPID = 0.1, 0.10, 10.0, 10.0, 20.0
brakeDifferentialPID = 2.7, 0.001, 10.0, 1.0, 5.0

These parameters are also explored in more detail here:

 

Available parameters are:

 

Parameter Description Type Required
rudderGroundPID

 

PID to adjust the rudder controls on the ground to stay on the centerline when taking off or taxiing using copilot and/or autopilot controls.

Input is the heading error, output is the rudder control input.

Default is: 0.015, 0.001, 0.001, 1.0, 1.0

1D table of 5 Floats

(see Data Types for more information).

The table requires the following 5 inputs:

Proportional factor,
Integral factor,     Derivative factor,
I boundary,
D boundary

For more information on these PID controller parameters, please see the section on PID Parameters.

 No
throttleGroundPID

PID to adjust the throttle controls on ground to stay at the target speed when taking off or taxiing using copilot and/or autopilot controls.

Input is the ground speed error, output is the throttle lever position.

Default is: 1.0, 0.1, 10.0, 10.0, 20.0
brakeDifferentialPID

PID to adjust the differential braking controls on ground to stay on the centerline when taking off or taxiing using copilot and/or autopilot controls.

Input is the heading rotational speed error, output is the target delta between brakes.

Default is: 0.001, 0.001, 0.8, 1.0, 5.0
throttleDifferentialPID

PID to adjust the differential throttle controls on ground to stay on the centerline when taking off or taxiing using copilot and/or autopilot controls.

Input is the heading rotational speed error, output is the increase in throttle.

Default is: 10.0, 0.001, 20.0, 10.0, 40.0
throttlePID

PID to adjust the throttle controls to stay at the target speed when in the air using copilot and/or autopilot controls.

Input is the airspeed error, output is the throttle lever position.

Default is: 20.0, 0.3, 20.0, 20.0, 500.0
pitchPID

PID to adjust the pitch controls to stay at the target pitch using copilot and/or autopilot controls.

NOTE: this parameter is not used by FlyByWire aircraft.

Input is the desired pitch, output is the pitch control input.

Default is: 1.0, 0.01, 2.0, 0.6, 5.0
rollPID

PID to adjust the roll controls to stay at the target bank angle using copilot and/or autopilot controls using copilot and/or autopilot controls.

Input is the desired bank, output is the bank control input.

Default is: 1.0, 0.001, 1.0, 0.5, 8.0
headingPID

PID to adjust the bank angle to stay at the target heading using copilot and/or autopilot controls.

Input is the heading error, output is the target bank.

Default is: 1.0, 0.01, 1.0, 1.0, 20.0
verticalSpeedPID

PID to adjust the pitch to stay at the target vertical speed using copilot and/or autopilot controls.

Input is the vertical speed error, output is the pitch control input adjustment.

Default is: 0.5, 0.1, 0.5, 200.0, 5000.0
nav_ex1PID

PID to adjust the heading to stay on the target navigation track using copilot and/or autopilot controls.

Input is the angular deviation, output is the bank control input adjustment.

Default is: 3.0, 0.01, 2.0, 0.035, 50.0
nav_yawPID

PID to adjust the yaw (usually via rudder input) to stay on the target navigation track using copilot and/or autopilot controls.

Input is lateral speed, output is the rudder control input.

Default is: 0.02, 0.00006, 0.006, 0.3, 3.0
glideSlopePID

PID to adjust the vertical speed to stay on the target glide slope using copilot and/or autopilot controls.

Input is the angular deviation from the slope, output is the pitch control input adjustment.

Default is: 5.52, 1.0, 3.0, 2.0, 60.0
flightLevelPID

PID to adjust the pitch to stay at the target airspeed during flight level change mode using copilot and/or autopilot controls.

Input is the airspeed error, output is the pitch control input adjustment.

Default is: 10.0, 1.0, 10.0, 100.0, 1000.0

 

 

[TAXI]

This section is used to define how the AI aircraft navigates the different taxiways. It has the following parameter:

 

Parameter Description Type Required
DistanceToLaneLine

Sets the distance, in meters, for the aircraft from the center line of the taxiway, allowing you to position it better within its own lane. Note that setting this to 0 (or less than 0) will not position the aircraft along the center line, but instead will force the simulation to use the bounding sphere radius for the offset distance, clamped to a minimum value of 1.5m.

Default value is 0.

 Integer No

 

 

[TOWPLANE]

If this section has been added to the CFG file, it means the aircraft can be used as a tow plane. In these cases then you will need to include the reference_points.cfg to position where the tow cable should be, and include the following parameters:

 

Parameter Description Type Required
minTurnAltitude

Defines the minimum AGL altitude - in ft - for the towplane to start turning after takeoff.

Default value is 300.

 Float No
spawnDistance

The spawn distance of the towplane relative to the position of the glider, in ft.

Default value is 200.

 Float No

 

 

[Glider]

This section is only required if the aircraft being defined is a glider. 

 

Parameter Description Type Required
defaultTowPlaneTitle

The container title of the winch SimObject that should be used for winched launches.

Default is "".

 String No
winchSpawnDistance

The initial distance of the winch on the runway relative to the position of the glider in ft.

Default value is 2000.

 Float No
allowWinchLaunch

Whether this glider can be launched using a winch (1, TRUE) or not (0, FALSE).

Default value is 1.

 Bool No
allowTowPlaneLaunch

Whether this glider can be launched using a towplane (1, TRUE) or not (0, FALSE).

Default value is 1.

 Bool No
allowAutonomousLaunch

Whether this glider can launch itself without help (1, TRUE) or not (0, FALSE).

Default value is 0.

 Bool No