On Wed, 30 Nov 2005 11:29:12 -0600, you wrote: >It'll still be the same. The C172 doesn't use the generic autopilot code >- it has a KAP140 autopilot model - which is controlled by clicking the >buttons on the device in the cockpit.
This confusion will raise its head every time a person comes to FlightGear for the first time. They will start with the Cessna and reach for the Autopilot dialog on the toolbar and wonder why it does not work. How could they know it is not hooked up for the particular aircraft and that it has a "better" autopilot in the virtual cockpit? One solution, I proposed, was to create a sub-menu for autopilot dialogs. There could be one for each type of autopilot, each author could create a simple dialog for settings, a default dialog would be labeled "Built in-autopilot" or something. It might be possible, as with the fuel dialog, to make the display conditional. If an aircraft has its own autopilot, the default dialog does not come up, but if it does not specify an autopilot, the default dialog comes up. There is a lot of confusion, because some aircraft have 2D cockpits and some have virtual cockpits with different expectations about how to interface with controls. If the aircraft has a virtual cockpit one expects to twist the knobs in the cockpit. But if it doesn't, one expects to go to the 2D panel or a dialog on the menu for radio and autopilot. Sometimes the device in the cockpit is difficult to read or adjust and the dialog is vital. My $0.02 Steve _______________________________________________ Flightgear-devel mailing list Flightgear-devel@flightgear.org http://mail.flightgear.org/mailman/listinfo/flightgear-devel 2f585eeea02e2c79d7b1d8c4963bae2d
