Simviation Forums

I started out with Gmax. Yes I can export aircraft and fly them(well sorta). I've actually wanted to build a boat so I made some box thing and with FSEdit I put Water Floats. It seems to jump on the ground like all other float planes, but it won't float in the water.

Hey. Here are some contact points for an Amphib. Try using 4 for floats instead of 3. Also the section with the 2 5s are for a water rudder. If when you get your boat floting and moving and it is unstable turn down the dampening on the water rudder as shown in the points.
point.0 = 1,

I know I did something wrong because it still won't float. Do you think you could send me a example .gmax file. Like I said, I'm new to Gmax and I know I'm doing a lot of stuff wrong.

I know I did something wrong because it still won't float. Do you think you could send me a example .gmax file. Like I said, I'm new to Gmax and I know I'm doing a lot of stuff wrong.

It isn't something you're doing wrong in Gmax.  Gmax doesn't do anything to actual physical motions or reactions to the FS world.  It's mearly a visual representation.  The mechanics of the aircraft are controlled by the CFG file and airfile.

A main reason for an aircraft jumping around like that on the runway is a contact point set below the ground.  Go back over your points and see if any of them register below the ground.  As a surefire test, start voiding them from the sim by putting // before each one.  Keep doing this from the bottom of the contact points section up until the plane quits jumping.  That means you've found the culprit.  Fix that and things should run smoothly.

Actually I want it to be a boat with no landing gear. So it should jump on the ground, it does, but it also jumps in the water. Oh, I usually don't edit the aircraft.crg directly because I downloaded FSEdit and it's a little easier from there. I actually don't even know what the landing gear points are...

Why don't you just download a boat and see what it's like?

I think I will...

I got a boat. Copied the gear points using FSEdit and put them into my boat, still won't float.

Probably means your reference datum position, static pitch or static center of gravity height are not correct for those points.  The first one can be found in the "Weight and Balance" section and the other two at the bottom of the "Contact Points" section.  Also, make sure the contact points are in sequential order and that the first three or four are the float points.

copy the .air file from the boat as well.... (who knows, right?!)

...as a matter of fact, copy the WHOLE cfg from the boat that will cause your boat to behave just like tho one you

I'm a begginer, I almost have no clue of all this stuff. I tried to copy the .air and .cfg and now I can't even select the aircraft, I was so excited it'd work that I didn't create backup, and now I gotta restart all over. I've sorta given up on this as I know I'm probably not going to get my boat/thing to float. So unless somone can REALLY get into detail and explain to me these huge words, I'm done.(But this doesn't mean I can't build bad aircraft...)

Here are some pictures to help you figure out your float problem.
In the CFG zero out the numbers that are circled with all new model CFGs.
See how my float points and Static CG height are closely related.
The Flight Sim Reference Point is the white box at 0-X 0-Y 0-Z this is the main bank pitch and roll reference for the Sim. This is also where the camera rotates around in the Sim.
Use a unconverted box to measure all your CFG reference points for accuracy.
You can change the height to measure. As long as your box is at zero Z same for X Y.
The grid is the ground/water for BGL scenery models It is the thrust plane for aircraft and boats. Measure down from the grid to get contact/float/scrapes.
See how in the pic of the Dash 8 Amphib the box extends down from the grid to the float point this is the measurement for the float at -11'0.00.
Float points just like contact points have a dampening input like shocks on a car.
Same with water rudders these entries will need to be tweaked for best performance.
If you havent already your model will need to be rotated 180 before export so its not backwords in the sim. Just select all parts and rotate using the bottom input boxes as a guide. (see pic)

My Hard Drive crashed and I won't be able to install GMax because my new one doesn't have any space...

Sorry to hear that Plane. Maybe you can get an additional hardrive later or one with more space. Did you have all your files backed up?