Erickson S-64 Aircrane anyone?

[wlbragg]

This thread and project hasn't seen any movement for sometime, time to start it back up I think. With the development of the rotor wash grass and water shader, it's got me wanting a fully functioning "swiss army knife" helicopter. We have everything we need to create a full service helo that can do it all, how about an AIRCRANE

So my first implementation is going to be the "wildfire suppression system". I have no idea what phrase they use, that is my phrasing. For now I'll use the acronym WSS.

First step a hard dock-able, working, water tank. I plan to implement the flex hose, saltwater ram scoop and the fire hose that shoots water out the front boom.

I can adapt the cargo hauling code I already have for cargo containers for docking and picking up the water tank. It needs some rework and simplification but now I have incentive. Hopefully I can either include it with the aircraft or maybe a fgdata addition if I can optimize and generalize it enough.

Starting on the tank


If StuartC's crew hoist system is going to be GPL when released maybe we can adapt that for rope or cable hauling. The amount of jobs the AirCrane is used for is staggering.

[Octal450]

NICE!

Kind Regards,
Josh

[StuartC]

The Crew hoist is GPL and in the current EC145 or BK117B2. Its just a minor modified version of the crew hoist from the Alouette III from the GrTux hanger.
I have planned for a cable lifting system, but not had much time to do anything about it yet. The bit that I'm not sure about is how to get the payload weight of the cargo at the end of the rope to move with the pendulum effect.

[wlbragg]

Good, I wasn't sure if it was installed in anything yet.

The bit that I'm not sure about is how to get the payload weight of the cargo at the end of the rope to move with the pendulum effect.

That is where I left off with the cargo tow I was working on a year or so ago. I has some code that was close but I knew it could be better and I wanted perfection. I know of a couple people that have the math skills to help me. Maybe I can sweet talk them into helping me with it when the time comes.

Even though I am not finished with the modeling and texturing of the tank portion, I couldn't wait to get some of the piping modeled.


I think it is now time to learn the wing flex shader code, I think that is what I will need to get a nice, flexible, hose? Speaking of math, oh boy, more math.

[StuartC]

use the same code for the winchman on the hose and it will swing about just the same.

[erik]

The bit that I'm not sure about is how to get the payload weight of the cargo at the end of the rope to move with the pendulum effect.

That is where I left off with the cargo tow I was working on a year or so ago. I has some code that was close but I knew it could be better and I wanted perfection. I know of a couple people that have the math skills to help me. Maybe I can sweet talk them into helping me with it when the time comes.

JSBsim already has support for this. I use this to move the CG for the Parachutist from center of body to way below the CG of the parachute (it even moves CG during deployment). It's just a matter of moving a pointmass' location. I've also added support to make sure the extra drag is taken into account for rolling moments otherwise JSBSim might go ballistic (literally).

Erik

[wlbragg]

Thanks Erik, I'll take a look.

Some more details to the WSS.

[wlbragg]

Coming along. I've gone and done it, got the bug again. My wife will probably divorce me after this project. All I want to do is continue forward.

This is a teaser of things to come. Keep in mind, this is the "rough" draft. I plan to code a robust 3 dimensional axis for the flex hose, This is basically the proof of concept.

I was in a hurry when I recorded this so I used the auto-hover in places to make getting stable quicker, but you can see the sloppiness and drift of the auto-hover. Something I plan to get fixed. I could use help with that.

Other than that, you can see where this is going. The 3 dimensional rotations and translations are the hard part for me. However I think there is enough material in FG to sort it out. The bend you see when the hose is docked is done using an adaptation of the wing flex. Ideally I can provide both a nasal + model segment solution and a shader solution. So the user can have the choice.

I still have some sound issues with OBS, fell free to suggest setting changes that might help.

[wlbragg]

Does anyone want to venture a guess or know what type of control interface this fire suppression system might use. Specifically, what the controls might look like and how are they hooked up?
For instance, do you think they would be radio or infrared controlled, or maybe a wire harness to a control panel or box like the wiring harness to a trailer, only it goes from the tank mechanisms to some sort of cockpit controls? Do you think the cockpit controls are built in or portable so to speak?

I've seen pictures of the flex hose for filling the tank (not the salt water ram) that looks like it might be on a winch with a cable to the head that would allow for remote deployment in flight VS dropping the hose and its head on the ground before takeoff. But I have also see it where it definitely must be hand deployed before liftoff. Any thoughts on this? You think it may be optional depending on the manufacturer?

Concerning the tank valves for dumping the water or payload, it is capable of deploying various cubic-feet per second, you think this is computer controlled or maybe a dial or switch? Would it be at the tank, only selectable/programmable before takeoff or programmable from the cockpit during flight?

I did a quick search for this type of information but only found pictures and generalizations of the external equipment.

Any insight from someone who knows how this works would be greatly appreciated.

I suppose this equipment is somewhat custom made and maybe we could legitimately be comfortable making it any way we want.

[StuartC]

Search for the manufacturer of the tank, and see what info they have.

[wlbragg]

Thanks StuartC, I do remember visiting one manufacturers site but I recall it having little technical info. I'll keep searching, there has to be something on it.

Testing the latest progress.

[wlbragg]

Added the fire suppression system to the grey livery. While I was at it I fixed the tail rotor cone by adding a second livery path for the tail rotor.
Added a particle effect for a wake when filling the tank using the ramjet boom.
You can also see the latest work on the rotor wash dust cloud, I'm completely happy with the effect now.
Next, the fire hose boom on the front for fighting fires horizontally. After that I will add the logic for filling and draining the tank using the various options and then the wildfire system implementation so it can be used in the sim.

[wlbragg]

Water cannon installed


More details added to the fire suppression system

[J Maverick 16]

Just saw this thread, amazing job there guys!
Looking forward to fly it again .
Regards, Mav

[wlbragg]

Thanks Mav!

Demonstration of the air cannon.