I want to learn to edit FDE?

[codered]

It is time to learn something new.  I have done well with repaints and panels.  Now I would like to know about flight dynamics and how to edit them.  Would anyone be able to give me some education on where to find information about editing the aircraft.cfg files, what all the information means, where to find real aircraft specifications so that I can make my edits as real as possible, are there programs that allow you to edit aircraft.cfg and air files, plus anything else to get me started?  I have successfully edited items like the trim sensitivity, adding or decreasing weights.  But when it comes to items like center of gravity, real weight and balance, and performace, all I do it arbitrarily edit the numbers.

Thank you everyone.  I am looking forward to learning something new and hearing what your experiences have been with FDE editing.

[microlight]

Hi codered.

You're in for the long haul - but that's something we simmers do, huh! There's nothing like experience, and you'll develop your own style of FD editing.

The tools are really basic - AirEd for the .air file (not used very often!), Notepad for the .cfg file (used a lot) and brain (used and confused all the time)! A basic understanding of the thrust/lift/drag relationship is useful too. If you look at how others have constructed their dynamics by looking at the files, it all begins to make sense after a while.

The way I do it is to start with a basic .air file for the approximate size and type of plane you want. Normally I don't alter it much (too many unknowns!) but change the parameters in the .cfg file instead.

Normally, things like balance point and weight define how (and whether) the plane sits on the tarmac properly. Contact points define where the undercarriage etc. touches the ground - and so on. The best way to learn is to do it, and ask if you need help with something.

I practised by putting together FDs for all of the B737 series, as their weights, fuel capacities, ranges etc. are all different using as much real information I could Google. A good source for Boeings for example is www.boeing.com which has a lot of the specs you'd need. For the ones that aren't there, there are other sites like www.airwar.ru (a site in Russian, but the specs are in English) or www.aerospace-technology.com. Then it's suck it and see.

Some people out there make the mistake of thinking you can plug the real figures in and that's all there is to it - there are some dogs out there masquerading as airliners with this kind of feature. Once the figures are in, that's where the tuning (and a lot of the fun) comes in to make your plane fly in a manner that's a reasonable PC facsimile of the real plane.

Difficult with 7E7s or A380s that haven't flown yet, of course!

Good luck!

[Felix/FFDS]

Hmmm - if Ozzy uses orange marmalade for normal

[codered]

Thank you for the tips and the website.  I am not an aeronautical engineer, but it sounds like that wouldn't help anyway.  Since an engineer would have a heck of a time not using real figures, as you say microlight.

Thanks for the help.  I am armed with knowledge and I'm dangerous!

[Felix/FFDS]

I am armed with knowledge and I'm dangerous!

And what's your excuse for when you don't know what you're doing?

[Katahu]

And what's your excuse for when you don't know what you're doing?

ROTFLOL!!!!!!!!!!

Here is some advice for contacts. It's best to manually punch in the wheel locations in the aircraft.cfg file and and by using the Tape helper [in Gmax] to measure distance. Don't use maxscripts like "Contacts01". This script has the tendency to throw things out of proportion [especially for tricycle planes]. Doing it manually may be long as heck, but at least you can get the accuracy you want.

If you wanna learn even more, you can also try using the fx values in the [LIGHTS] section of the aircraft.cfg file by simply matching the coordinates to that of the wheel contacts. This makes the contacts visible so that you can line them up more easily.

Good luck and don't bust your head.

[Meteorit-N]

Instead of using tape it might be more simple and accurate to just select the tire/wingtip/tail/whatever object and (presuming it is an editable poly or mesh) go to vertex sub-object level. Then select an appropriate vertex with 'move' tool selected from the top toolbar. That way you can get the coordinates directly from the x/y/z indicators at the bottom panel. Just remember to set the units to 'decimal feet' from 'Customize units setup'.