.air file editing

Anything to do with Aircraft Design, FSDS, G Max, Aircraft Animator, SDL Edit, etc. Novice or skilled - stop here & learn!

.air file editing

Postby brettt777 » Fri Jan 03, 2014 1:53 pm

I have been playing around with some old freeware planes for my own personal fun. I have a thing about having the flight controls move accurately. I hate it when a simulator shows a plane having 30 degrees of up elevator or stabilator to do a normal climb when I know that at a normal cruising airspeed, especially in a jet of some kind, it takes very little elevator or stabilator movement to induce said climb or turn. I know that many higher end jets have mechanisms in their flight controls that limit the amount of flight control movement for a given stick input depending on airspeed, attitude, etc. A good example of this is an Alphajet. They have such a device that prevents excessive stabilator movement above a certain airspeed so a student cannot easily over G the airframe. I have been trying with some success to simulate this effect.
I figured out how to do this in the .air file and while it works on some planes, it doesn't work on others. At least it doesn't work correctly. What I mean is... when it works, the stabilator movement is limited at higher speeds when the plane is airborne. Full stick movement causes only about 5, maybe 10 degrees of stabilator movement. But it has full movement when the plane is flying slow and dirty. An easy adjustment in the .air file can create this effect. But on some planes, when I make this adjustment, the stabilator still moves a full 25-30 degrees or whatever. Aerodynamically the plane flies correct, i.e. I pull the stick all the way back at higher airspeed and I may get a high G climb but it doesn't yank straight up and pull 15 G's. But the flight controls still move the same full throw. I am wondering why this works on some planes and not on others. What would cause the flight controls to move full throw regardless of how I adjust #517, 518, or 519 in the .air file?
As I said, I am experimenting with this on some older freeway planes for my own fun.
brettt777
1st Lieutenant
1st Lieutenant
 
Posts: 324
Joined: Tue Aug 03, 2004 7:21 pm
Location: Gadsden, AL

Re: .air file editing

Postby PhantomTweak » Sat Jan 04, 2014 1:26 am

:D Bearing mind that what the model SHOWS and what it DOES can be two different animals. Tailhooks on older aircraft, such as the IRIS F-14B Bombcat, are the prime example of this. Having said that, check out the #300 settings. I makes a huge difference in what's shown and what the aircraft does both. At least in the Team FSKBIT FA-18's and Dino's F-14's. I will presume the effects hold for all aircraft, but haven't tested any but those yet.

And when adjusting settings like that, bear in mind the famous quote by a VMFAT-401 Snipers agressor pilot, who later got his brains gunned out by a C-141 in the pettern at MCAS Yuma (not for reals, training scenario type "kill)...."Never, ever get slow with a 14!!" :lol: Getting nailed in a fast, agail fighter like the Kfir by a huge hog like the 141 was awfull embarrassing. Orca never lived it down!
Of course, this was while flying Kfirs, a plane that had a full dirty landing speed of over 200 kts, but STILL.... :D

I just had to toss in that little tidbit, having mentioed the F-14s 8-)

Good luck!

Pat~
Have fun, fly high, far, and free!
Pat
2S7, Chiloquin OR Image
User avatar
PhantomTweak
Captain
Captain
 
Posts: 599
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2013 11:10 pm
Location: Chiloquin OR

Re: .air file editing

Postby Hagar » Sat Jan 04, 2014 2:57 am

You don't say which version of FS/CFS you're dealing with. I stand to be corrected but I've always understood that most flight dynamics variables in FS9/FSX aircraft are defined in Aircraft.cfg. If you edit a parameter in the AIR file it won't have any effect unless any corresponding Aircraft.cfg parameter is adjusted accordingly.
Image

Founder & Sole Member - Grumpy's Over the Hill Club for Veteran Virtual Aviators
Member of the Fox Four Group
My Google Photos albums
My Flickr albums
User avatar
Hagar
Colonel
Colonel
 
Posts: 30853
Joined: Wed Jun 19, 2002 7:15 am
Location: Costa Geriatrica

Re: .air file editing

Postby PhantomTweak » Sat Jan 04, 2014 1:49 pm

I read someplace that one of the two takes precedence, the .air or .cfg file, but for the life of me I can't recall which....and I am talking FS9 (FS2004 CoF).
Have fun, fly high, far, and free!
Pat
2S7, Chiloquin OR Image
User avatar
PhantomTweak
Captain
Captain
 
Posts: 599
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2013 11:10 pm
Location: Chiloquin OR

Re: .air file editing

Postby Hagar » Sat Jan 04, 2014 2:27 pm

PhantomTweak wrote:I read someplace that one of the two takes precedence, the .air or .cfg file, but for the life of me I can't recall which....and I am talking FS9 (FS2004 CoF).

Aircraft.cfg takes precedence.
Image

Founder & Sole Member - Grumpy's Over the Hill Club for Veteran Virtual Aviators
Member of the Fox Four Group
My Google Photos albums
My Flickr albums
User avatar
Hagar
Colonel
Colonel
 
Posts: 30853
Joined: Wed Jun 19, 2002 7:15 am
Location: Costa Geriatrica

Re: .air file editing

Postby PhantomTweak » Sat Jan 04, 2014 6:08 pm

Thanx, I can never remember. I'm gonna save that someplace....and probably forget where I save it to.... :lol:

Seriously, thank you, I appreciate the info....

Pat
Have fun, fly high, far, and free!
Pat
2S7, Chiloquin OR Image
User avatar
PhantomTweak
Captain
Captain
 
Posts: 599
Joined: Mon Oct 14, 2013 11:10 pm
Location: Chiloquin OR


Return to Aircraft & 3D Design

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 186 guests