> However I thought JSBSim was just a flight dynamics engine? > Even if these features were added to an aircraft config file FG would still > have to be modified so that instruments can also have their own separate > config files otherwise you end up coding the instrument maths/logic into the > aircraft config files all over again. > > Paul
JSBSim does flight dynamics and control (and propulsion). Everything that it needs to have to model the controlled flight of an aerospace vehicle. One of the capabilities featured in the aerodynamics model is the ability to specify new properties as a function of other properties or values, etc. This is useful for modeling complicated aerodynamic functions, but - by design - it also serves another purpose. One project I worked on for the space shuttle featured some complicated displays. This was a couple of years ago. I figured that if there was an equation capability in JSBSim where arbitrary calculations could be made and the results accessible to FlightGear as a whole, then more complicated displays could be done in FlightGear. As an example of what I am talking about, the space shuttle features a crew display prior to landing that shows - given the current vehicle state - where the shuttle would be in 10, 20, and 30 seconds in the future as a predicting aid. The FDM, with it's intimate knowledge of vehicle state, can calculate the predicted location and make these parameters available via properties, so they can be displayed. Now, I suspect Nasal is the preferred method for doing this kind of thing now in FlightGear - and from what I understand it's independent of FDM. Still, I can imagine playing with this in JSBSim, and for users outside of FlightGear, it may be the only way to go. Jon _______________________________________________ Flightgear-devel mailing list Flightgear-devel@flightgear.org http://mail.flightgear.org/mailman/listinfo/flightgear-devel 2f585eeea02e2c79d7b1d8c4963bae2d
