> Turns out that JSBSim and YASim already has what I'm looking for. > > My question then is reduced to: why doesn't more FDM modellers use > these features of JSBSim and YASim to create cotrol surfaces that seem to > have mass? > > Roy Vegard Ovesen
Roy: Possibly, it is because many of the aircraft flight models were written before the specific capabilities became available. There are two flight control components provided by JSBSim which could be added into the control path for a JSBSim aircraft to affect movement of an aerosurface: a kinematic control and an actuator control. The kinematic control is more for flaps. The more recent actuator control provides rate and position limiting, hysteresis, and deadband, among other things. My suspicion is that an actuator would be a very good thing to have in there and the right thing to do. Also, a filter could be added. It is generally not a good idea to alter the inputs to the FDM (joystick and/or keyboard inputs) prior to the FDM getting ahold of the signal. From my point of view, when the simulation creates an artificial condition (such as a reset of some kind, or a skew, or trimming) which is driven by the simulator, then signals to the FDM (i.e. control inputs) can be processed, perhaps to prevent undesirable dynamics. But, for natural and actual inputs, the FDM control system should handle that. I'm unclear as to whether the situation you are referring to is natural or simulation-induced. For more information about the JSBSim actuator and kinematic control components, see: http://jsbsim.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/User%27s_Manual#Flight_Control_ Section You will have to scroll down a ways. Jon ------------------------------------------------------------------------- SF.Net email is sponsored by: The Future of Linux Business White Paper from Novell. From the desktop to the data center, Linux is going mainstream. Let it simplify your IT future. http://altfarm.mediaplex.com/ad/ck/8857-50307-18918-4 _______________________________________________ Flightgear-devel mailing list Flightgear-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/flightgear-devel
