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cessna T-37 enhancements

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cessna T-37 enhancements

Postby snipey » Mon Jun 07, 2010 8:09 pm

because i would like to contribute to flightgear I decided that I would try developing planes. but because I have no idea of where to start I decided that I first would modify an existing one.
i chose the t-37 because it has no panel yet( which i would like to add)
it looks funny.
and judging from the wiki no-one is working on it
when i'm done i'll probably modify it into an A-37 it's armed brother.
to keep it a little organized I seperated the interior model from the rest so i don get lost in enormous xml files.
screenie's will come later(when i have some instruments and a properly placed interior
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Re: cessna T-37 enhancements

Postby erik » Mon Jun 07, 2010 8:29 pm

Ahh great to see someone step up who wants to improve the T-37.
My time is very limited these days so I can't spent much time adjusting it myself, unfortunately.

Thanks for stepping up snipey!

Erik
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Re: cessna T-37 enhancements

Postby richter » Tue Jun 08, 2010 2:05 am

It just happens that I decided to the same thing and have been working on it for the past few days! Let's work on this together.

Here's what I have done so far:

Model:
* Completely remodeled canopy
* main gear wheel wells and covers

Image

Sound:
* Interior-exterior sound level difference

Instruments:
* Basic flight instruments, as follows:

Code: Select all
<!-- Instruments -->
<model>
   <name>ASI</name>
   <path>Aircraft/Instruments-3d/asi/asi.xml</path>
   <offsets>
      <x-m>-1.065</x-m>
      <y-m>-0.47</y-m>
      <z-m>0.46</z-m>
   </offsets>
</model>

<model>
   <name>ADF</name>
   <path>Aircraft/Instruments-3d/adf/adf.xml</path>
   <offsets>
      <x-m>-1.083</x-m>
      <y-m>-0.37</y-m>
      <z-m>0.46</z-m>
   </offsets>
</model>


<model>
   <name>AI</name>
   <path>Aircraft/Instruments-3d/ai/ai.xml</path>
   <offsets>
      <x-m>-1.065</x-m>
      <y-m>-0.27</y-m>
      <z-m>0.46</z-m>
   </offsets>
</model>

<model>
   <name>alt</name>
   <path>Aircraft/Instruments-3d/alt-2/alt2-3d.xml</path>
   <offsets>
      <x-m>-1.065</x-m>
      <y-m>-0.47</y-m>
      <z-m>0.36</z-m>
   </offsets>
</model>

<model>
   <name>VOR</name>
   <path>Aircraft/Instruments-3d/vor/vor.xml</path>
   <offsets>
      <x-m>-1.065</x-m>
      <y-m>-0.37</y-m>
      <z-m>0.36</z-m>
   </offsets>
</model>
 
 
<model>
   <name>VSI</name>
   <path>Aircraft/Instruments-3d/vsi-6/vsi-3d.xml</path>
   <offsets>
      <x-m>-1.065</x-m>
      <y-m>-0.27</y-m>
      <z-m>0.36</z-m>
   </offsets>
</model>


I think the main area needing work is the cockpit: many of the proportions are off so it's hard to get an accurate-looking instrument panel. Among other things the control stick is way too long and obscures the instruments.

Image

I will make the model (is Bender format OK?) along with the sound configuration files available shortly.
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Re: cessna T-37 enhancements

Postby snipey » Tue Jun 08, 2010 5:22 am

i think it is a very good idea to work together on this plane
blender is OK i'm wotking in it too.
at the moment i have copied you instument settings and i have moved them into the T37 dir. because i will remodel them to look more like the real ones
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Re: cessna T-37 enhancements

Postby stuart » Tue Jun 08, 2010 3:48 pm

Hi Guys,

Great to see people cooperating to improve existing aircraft!

The T-37 was one of my early favourites for flying in FG. There's a nice pilot report about it here: http://www.airbum.com/pireps/PirepCessnaT-37.html

I look forward to flyign the results :)

-Stuart
G-MWLX
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Re: cessna T-37 enhancements

Postby simbabeat » Tue Jun 08, 2010 4:50 pm

Looks nice you guys. My suggestion would be to smooth the model and make the landing gear more complex.

Cheers
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Re: cessna T-37 enhancements

Postby karla » Wed Jun 09, 2010 10:55 pm

Its a pleasure to see good aircraft being turned into great aircraft - thanks for improving the quality of our sim.
Piper Cub, B777-200ER mods, EGGD, EGKK, KSFO T2
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Re: cessna T-37 enhancements

Postby richter » Tue Jul 20, 2010 2:45 am

I've done a bit of work on the model, so I'm making a current version (still very much in progress) available here.

Image

A rundown of the new additions/changes:

Exterior model
- Completely remodeled canopy, central fuselage area, and tail
- Fully animated retracting landing gear with wheel covers and wells
- Engine fans visible in ducts (not rotating though)
- Ventral fin
- Canopy reflection shader (easy eye candy)
* Inside edges of flaps and ailerons are currently missing; will be filled in soon.

Interior model
- Completely remodeled to more accurately represent spatial relation of pilot, instrument panel, controls, etc.
- Basic flight instruments (these are just a temporary stand-in, and some of them don't even work...)
- Pilot and student figures (both can be turned on or off from menu)
* Canopy inner frame is gone; will be remodeled

Livery
- NONE! It's been stripped clean and is awaiting a primer coat for a new, complete texturing.

Sound
- Engine sound is attenuated when in the cockpit

Other
- Standard Heads-Up Display
- Splash Screen

Have fun.
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Re: cessna T-37 enhancements

Postby erik » Tue Jul 20, 2010 7:12 am

Nice, it already starts to look better than before.
I'll try it out soon.

Erik
Current: Parachutist, Paraglider, Pterosaur, Pilatus PC-9M and variants, ERCO Ercoupe, Fokker Dr.1, Fokker 50, Fokker 100
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Re: cessna T-37 enhancements

Postby erik » Mon Aug 16, 2010 9:43 pm

I just remembered your efforts for improving the T-37 and was wondering if the link contains a new version or is it still the 'work in progress' version you mentioned? I remember having a few issues with the changes but there is no need to complain if it's fixed already :)

Erik
Current: Parachutist, Paraglider, Pterosaur, Pilatus PC-9M and variants, ERCO Ercoupe, Fokker Dr.1, Fokker 50, Fokker 100
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Re: cessna T-37 enhancements

Postby richter » Tue Aug 17, 2010 6:28 am

I haven't released a new version yet but hope to soon. I am currently working on the texture and small changes to the model, so if you have any requests I'm eager to hear them.
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Re: cessna T-37 enhancements

Postby erik » Tue Aug 17, 2010 9:10 am

Well, one thing I noticed is that the canopy frame doesn't extend to the rear section in the current model. It took me quite some time to get that right in the initial model and while it was low poly it did match the real plane:
http://www.lmstandish.net/image/T-37/t37retirement1.jpg

Erik
Current: Parachutist, Paraglider, Pterosaur, Pilatus PC-9M and variants, ERCO Ercoupe, Fokker Dr.1, Fokker 50, Fokker 100
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Re: cessna T-37 enhancements

Postby richter » Thu Dec 30, 2010 8:10 am

I've finally completed a full texture map, along with many many small additions, so here is the latest version:

http://riktov.synthasite.com/resources/ ... 101230.zip

Image
Image

There are still many many things to add to the 3-D model, but I will restrain myself for the time being :) and let others work on them if they want. Snipey, if you have any interior enhancements, I would be glad to incorporate them into the model. Erik, if you want to incorporate this into the "official" distribution, this is the version to use. Hope you like it.
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Re: cessna T-37 enhancements

Postby erik » Thu Dec 30, 2010 3:46 pm

Excellent, I've pushed it to git. I did need to make some minor modifications to the ambient color since the latest code treats is differently than before.

Erik
Current: Parachutist, Paraglider, Pterosaur, Pilatus PC-9M and variants, ERCO Ercoupe, Fokker Dr.1, Fokker 50, Fokker 100
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