THE GENERAL TAB

 

This tab is for setting up the general information related to your aircraft. The contents of this tab correspond to some of the sections and parameters that you can find in the Aircraft Config file.

 

At the top of this tab you have the following two options:

 

• ATC Type - This is the "brand" name of the aircraft.
• ATC ViewModel - This is the model name of the aircraft.

 

 

Pilots Info

The first section you can expand on this tab is the Pilots Info section, which will then show the following parameters:

 

• Pilot / Co-pilot / Instructor: This is the title of the SimObject - as set in the sim.cfg file for a human SimObject - that is to be used as the default pilot/co-pilot/instructor. If you do not set these parameters then no pilot/co-pilot/instructor object will be spawned, although for user aircraft it may still spawn a pilot/co-pilot/instructor if a mission explicitly specifies one. If the player has settings other than "Default" in the main simulation options menu for the type of person to spawn, then that setting will override these ones (and may also spawn a pilot/co-pilot/instructor if this parameter is not set). For a list of pilot objects available to you without creating your own SimObjects, please see the List Of Included Pilot/Copilot/Instructor SimObjects.

  NOTE: In "freeflight", these parameters may be ignored if the aircraft flight_model.cfg has not defined a pilot station_load.N (this can also be set in the Weight And Balance tab of the aircraft editor).

• Pilot Default Animation / Co-Pilot Default Animation (0 - 7): A string representing the animation (BlendTreeState) that will be used by the Human Character pilot and/or co-pilot. If using one of the included pilot models this should be "Idle1_PoseAirliner" or "Idle1_PosePropeller", depending on the type of aircraft, for the 0 state. Subsequent animations can be added in position 1 - 7 if required, with position 0 being the "base" (or default) state.
• Pilot Default Animation Layer / Co-Pilot Default Animation Layer (0 - 7): A string representing an individual layer within the animation that should be linked to the corresponding animation. A layer is used to independently animate a part of the model as if it were an independent animation, so that the animations don't conflict. For example, you could have a layer controlling the legs and lower body of the model, another layer for the arms and upper body, and a third layer for the head. Each layer could then be in a different state - the legs walking or not, the arms idle or doing some animation, the face looking happy or sad or talking, etc...

 

It is worth noting that the animations section will require you to have also setup the appropriate model.xml using the <AnimGraph> element and sub-elements to define the pilot/co-pilot/instructor animations for use. This is a very advanced topic and generally most aircraft only require a single default animation for the pilot and the co-pilot.

 

 

IK Chains Nodes

This section is used to set up the inverse kinetic chain between the pilot extremities and the yoke/stick and pedals. Here you give the nodes on the cockpit model elements that should "connect" with the relevant part of the pilot/co-pilot model (hands and feet). The parameters available are:

 

• Right Hand Dummy: This is the name of the node on the stick/yoke where the right hand will be "connected", eg: "Right_Hand_Ik_snap"
• Left Hand Dummy: This is the name of the node on the stick/yoke where the left hand will be "connected", eg: "Left_Hand_Ik_snap"
• Right Foot Dummy: This is the name of the node for the foot pedal where the right foot will be "connected", eg: "Right_Foot_Ik_snap"
• Left Foot Dummy: This is the name of the node for the foot pedal where the left foot will be "connected", eg: "Left_Foot_Ik_snap"

 

 

Services Available

This section details which Airport Services can be available for the aircraft:

To enable a service, simply click on it and it will be highlighted, meaning that it will be available to the aircraft. Clicking it again will disable the service, and remove the highlighting. In this way you can enable/disable any of the following 12 available services:

 

• FUELTRUCK: Ability to call a FuelTruck from a parking. Even if unavailable, this does not prevent the aircraft taxiing to a Fuel Station.
• BAGGAGE_LOADER: This determines whether the entire baggage service is available or not.
• CATERING_TRUCK: This determines whether a catering truck is available or not.
• BOARDING_RAMP: This determines whether a boarding ramp (ie: moving stairs) is available or not.
• GROUND_POWER_UNIT: This determines whether ground power units are available or not.
• PUSHBACK: This is for the large model of the pushback vehicle, mostly used for airliners.
• SMALL_PUSHBACK: This is for the small model of the pushback vehicle, designed for small GA aircraft and private jets. Note that the aircraft needs to have a centered front wheel for this vehicle type.
• MARSHALLER: This determines whether a marshaller is available or not.
• JETWAY: This determines whether a Jetway is available or not. If unavailable, aircraft will still be able to park at Gates, but not to connect to a jetway.

 

 

Variations

The final sections of the Aircraft Editor are used for defining the behavior of the aircraft as a SimObject, as well as setting whether it is available to the user or not, and/or whether it can be used as AI traffic or not. You can define multiple of these sections by clicking the + button at the bottom left of the window, and each new section is a variation of the aircraft (you should have at least one for the default aircraft). You can also remove variations by selecting them from the list on the left and then clicking on the X button. The following sections all relate to the [FLTSIM.N] section of the aircraft.cfg.

 

Global

This section defines some of the global attributes for the aircraft variation. The following parameters are available:

 

• Title: The aircraft variation name. Names are a unique identifier of SimObjects and their variants. We recommend using your company name as a prefix, to guarantee the uniqueness of your SimObject even when included with objects produced by other 3rd party developers.
• Model Folder: The folder for the aircraft model (if it's the default "model" folder, leave empty).
• Panel Folder: The folder for the aircraft panel (if it's the default "panel" folder, leave empty).
• Sound Folder: The folder for the aircraft sounds (if it's the default "sound" folder, leave as an empty string "").
• Texture Folder: The folder for the aircraft textures (if it's the default "texture" folder, leave as an empty string "").
• Checklists File: Procedures/Checklist sibling file name.
• Reference File: Reference information sibling file name.
• Description: A full description of the aircraft variation.
• Is Air Traffic: If this is checked then this variation is considered to be optimized for use as a parked plane, or as part of air traffic. Please see the Notes On Air Traffic section for additional information related to this setting.
• Is User Selectable: If this is disabled then this variation is not selectable to the user for flying. Please see the Notes On Air Traffic section for additional information related to this setting.

 

UI

This section defines the items that will be shown to the user when the aircraft variation is shown in the simulation user interface. It has the following parameters:

 

• Manufacturer: Localisable string indicating the manufacturer.
• Type: Localisable string indicating the aircraft type.
• Variation: Localisable string indicating the variation.
• Type Role: Localisable string indicating the typical aircraft roll, eg: "Single Engine Prop", "Twin Engine Prop", "Commercial Airliner", etc...
• Created By: Name of the person or company that created the asset.
• Thumbnail File: Relative path to the thumbnail image for the aircraft asset.
• Certified Ceiling: The service ceiling/max certified operating altitude, in ft.
• Max Range (NM): The maximum distance the aircraft can fly between take-off and landing, in nm.
• Autonomy (Hrs): The maximum duration the aircraft can fly between take-off and landing in hours.
• Fuel Burn Rate: The average fuel consumption per hour, in lbs.

 

ATC

This section is used to set up air traffic control data and a few other things related to the way the aircraft will interact with the world. It has the following parameters:

 

• ID: This gives the registration number of the aircraft (Note that it can be modified in the simulation options by the user).
• ID Enable: Whether the tail number is enabled or not.
  NOTE: This is obsolete and will have no effect on the aircraft.
• Airline: The airline name.
• Flight Number: The flight number.
• Heavy: When enabled the aircraft will be classed as "heavy".
• Parking Codes: Here you can add in parking codes for the variationby clicking the + button, for example: F18. If you make a mistake or want to remove a parking code, select it and click the X button.
• Parking Types: This permits you to add 1 (or more) parking types for the aircraft variation. To add a new type, click the + button, and to remove a type click the X button. The types available are:
  • ANY
  • RAMP
  • CARGO
  • MIL_CARGO
  • MIL_COMBAT
  • GATE
  • DOCK
• ID Colour: The RGBA component colours that are used for the tail number.
  NOTE: This is obsolete and will have no effect on the aircraft.
• ID Font: Relative path to the font for the tail number.
  NOTE: This is obsolete and will have no effect on the aircraft.
• ICAO Airline: This defines the non-localized ICAO code of the airline if the variation is a livery for a real airline. Please see the Notes On Air Traffic section for additional information related to this setting.