Board index FlightGear Development

New Aircraft

FlightGear is opensource, so you can be the developer. In the need for help on anything? We are here to help you.
Forum rules
Core development is discussed on the official FlightGear-Devel development mailing list.

Bugs can be reported in the bug tracker.

New Aircraft

Postby SeanFitz » Sun Aug 25, 2013 1:32 am

I was wondering if anyone on the forums could create a few aircraft.
They are:
-Bede BD-10
-Mikoyan LMFS
-Sukhoi SU-34
-McDonnell F-3H Demon
-General Dynamic F-111 Aardvark
Anyone up for the task?
Last edited by SeanFitz on Mon Aug 26, 2013 3:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
SeanFitz
 
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2013 11:38 pm
Callsign: Ghost, Ranger
Version: 2.8
OS: Mac OS X

Re: New Aircraft

Postby Flyer159 » Sun Aug 25, 2013 1:42 pm

SeanFitz wrote in Sun Aug 25, 2013 1:32 am:I was wondering if anyone on the forums could create a few aircraft. (...)

You can do it yourself :)
Have a look at this: http://wiki.flightgear.org/Howto:Make_an_aircraft
There is also a topic here: http://www.flightgear.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6030

Best regards,
Wiktor
Arminair VA
http://arminair.tk
ARA02xx

------------------
"There is no sport equal to that which aviators enjoy while being carried through the air on great white wings". - Wilbur Wright
User avatar
Flyer159
 
Posts: 42
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 12:06 am
Location: Lodz, Poland (EPLL)
Callsign: SP-VIC or VIC1590
Version: 2.8.0.5
OS: Windows 7/8

Re: New Aircraft

Postby SeanFitz » Sun Aug 25, 2013 9:38 pm

I would if I had the ability, but I dont.
SeanFitz
 
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2013 11:38 pm
Callsign: Ghost, Ranger
Version: 2.8
OS: Mac OS X

Re: New Aircraft

Postby Hooray » Sun Aug 25, 2013 9:42 pm

If you have the ability to APPRECIATE any of the aircraft you are requesting, you also have the ability to ACQUIRE the skills necessary to modify/improve/create aircraft - but by asking US to do the work for you, you are chosing the easy route, instead of rolling up your own sleeves.

Keep in mind, nobody here was born with the ability to contribute to FlightGear, we all started out with zero FlightGear knowledge, and had to learn new stuff to contribute in some way or form.

That being said, coming here and asking for 5+ different aircraft is pretty blunt in my opinion :D
Please don't send support requests by PM, instead post your questions on the forum so that all users can contribute and benefit
Thanks & all the best,
Hooray
Help write next month's newsletter !
pui2canvas | MapStructure | Canvas Development | Programming resources
Hooray
 
Posts: 12707
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:40 am
Pronouns: THOU

Re: New Aircraft

Postby SeanFitz » Mon Aug 26, 2013 3:37 am

Really, I was just looking for mostly FDM help, And maybe the full development of the F-111.
SeanFitz
 
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2013 11:38 pm
Callsign: Ghost, Ranger
Version: 2.8
OS: Mac OS X

Re: New Aircraft

Postby Johan G » Mon Aug 26, 2013 4:22 pm

People are in this project on their spare time. Developing even a very rudimentary aircraft takes a few days and a more complete one with a cockpit and believable behaviour takes probably a couple of weeks. The more complete models are months of work.

If you really want to have those aircraft, the best way to get them done is to start doing them yourself. :wink: Believe me, when you have demonstrated that you are willing to learn using new tools and acquire new skills you will get more help. Consider also that some of those tools and skills can be used outside FlightGear as well.

I do know that I seems daunting at first, I have been there myself (or rather, still am, to some extent*). I had wanted to, but at the same time avoided to learn Blender for years, but I learned 3D modelling basics in about 2-3 weeks and started making some cockpit instruments. I found that there are many good tutorials on YouTube.


Please, do give it a try. It can be fun to the point of being addictive at times. Also many of us would enjoy seeing you learn and develop new skills and see what you would do with those. :wink:

* Though I am more interested in improving one of the aircraft, the Mirage F1.
Low-level flying — It's all fun and games till someone looses an engine. (Paraphrased from a YouTube video)
Improving the Dassault Mirage F1 (Wiki, Forum, GitLab. Work in slow progress)
Some YouTube videos
Johan G
Moderator
 
Posts: 6629
Joined: Fri Aug 06, 2010 6:33 pm
Location: Sweden
Callsign: SE-JG
IRC name: Johan_G
Version: 2020.3.4
OS: Windows 10, 64 bit

Re: New Aircraft

Postby hvengel » Fri Sep 06, 2013 5:02 pm

Johan G wrote in Mon Aug 26, 2013 4:22 pm:... The more complete models are months of work.
...


The really well done aircraft in FG are more likely man years of work. It is possible to spend several weeks of work (FTE not an hour or two an evening for several weeks) on just one device in a cockpit if the intent is to do very high quality work.

There are lots of less than impressive aircraft in FlightGear that someone spent a few days or a few weeks putting together but only a handful of truly exceptional ones. The exceptional ones represent thousands if not tens of thousands of man hours of work and usually involve someone working in their spar time for years to reach that level. In some cases there are exceptional examples that were a team effort. We need more of those exceptional examples and less of the throw it together over the week end efforts.

Rather than starting a new aircraft the better thing to do is to pick something that already exists but that is in less than excellent shape and contact the maintainer and ask him/her if there is something that you can do to help. This allows you to improve your skill set by focusing on smaller tasks and avoid being overwhelmed by a huge project like building a new aircraft from scratch.

As Johan G points out starting out adding or improving cockpit instruments is probably the way to go. It gives you a look at many parts of the process (researching the device, 3D modeling, texture creation, animation, XML, using the property tree...) without anyone of these tasks being too much for a beginner. Perhaps 90% of the aircraft in FlightGear git have a need for a new or improved instrument or other device in the cockpit so there is lots of work to be done just in this area. Even if a hundred newbs came on the scene and started doing this tomorrow it would be several years before the back log of cockpit work to existing aircraft was mostly done. Perhaps the best starting project is adding placards to existing cockpits as this is about the simplest possible task and most FG aircraft are missing most of the placards that should be there. Even some very detailed aircraft cockpits are missing one or more placards.
hvengel
Retired
 
Posts: 1127
Joined: Sun Dec 24, 2006 5:35 am
Location: Minden Nevada

Re: New Aircraft

Postby Bomber » Sat Sep 14, 2013 7:55 pm

I agree 100% with hvengel..

I would add however that working as individuals almost silently, throwing in the odd screen shot of progress every now and again. Comes a very long way 2nd best to working as a losely held together 'team' of people interested in the same discipline.

So if there's a plane you like and think some part of it needs improving go to the relevant forum here and ask..not for someone to do the work but instead for help in your understanding how you could do the work..

I keep track myself on 2 forums, systems and flight modelling.. and I'll help with advice on those topics, but the lions share of the work you'll have to do.

Simon.
"If anyone ever tells you anything about an aeroplane which is so bloody complicated you can't understand it, take it from me - it's all balls" - R J Mitchel
Bomber
 
Posts: 1933
Joined: Fri Dec 14, 2007 8:06 pm
OS: Windows XP and 10


Return to Development

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests