Simviation Forums

Is there anyone out there that can give me some advice on how to work with "contact points" to get planes to sit correctly on the runway? I have a couple of Aussie Sea Furys for CFS2 that have a case of "the dissappearing  tailwheel" when sitting on the ground. I am fairly new at this so please be tolerant of my lack of knowledge here.

--thanx, mates...
   the Blackbird.

Assuming your not redesigning them under FSDS or something, then the problem is usually in the .cfg file it may be the CG height, or the angle of the plane at rest.
Look for the following in the CFG file and "modify" the numbers until you get a better outcome.

static_pitch= 11.800
static_cg_height= 5.220

I used to mess around with this a lot in the old days. It's the only part of the flight dynamics I was ever any good at. Things are a little more complicated now with animated suspensions.

Here's how I used to do it. This is only the basic idea. First select the model in CFS2 Free Flight. When it loads go to Spot View & hit the Y key for Slew Mode. This will show you the static_ height & static_pitch values. These will not affect the model in normal mode & some will be way out. This can cause the model to drop when it loads normally & sometimes even explode. You can check the difference by hitting Y again. Adjust the static values by trial & error until it's about right. It doesn't need to be perfect.

To set the model up in normal mode you will have to increase/decrease the vertical height of the gear in the [contact_points] entries for the individual legs. To raise the tailwheel increase the value of this entry in point.0 by small increments until it looks right in the sim. I always exit the sim before editing & restart it to check the result. This is a tad time-consuming but is the best way to avoid mistakes.

PS. Runways will vary so you need to choose a suitable airfield for your tweaking. I always used the default Espiritu Santo to tweak these settings.

Thanks for the replies mates... I'm working on those pesky little numbers pretty much as we speak. With a little luck, I should be able to get that tailwheel outta' the mud and back on the ground, spinning!

Cheers
the Blackbird

Some designers do not set up the compression on the gear correctly. If what you have been told here so far does not work, then the ole has to be tuned. Not that easy.