A design-concept idea....

[jeremiahhorner]

My Dad (a real-world CFI) has always dreamed of building an airplane from a kit.  What if there was such a thing available for virtual aviation as well?  It could come in pieces (wings, fuselage, etc all built but seperate), have a paintkit, instructions for building the .air file, etc.  There could even be different options like floats, or different engines or passenger/cargo configurations...all requiring different things in the .air file.  Taking it further...Maybe as a commercial project, you could produce several of these kit airplanes and then a series of possible upgrades (engines, avionics, STOL kits, tanks, etc.), as would be possible if you purchased a real airplane.

[Felix/FFDS]

The separate "parts"  would still have to be put together in the modelling program, which means, you still have to get the modelling program, the appropriate flightsim version SDK, etc.

You don't need specialized "parts" - not when you have so many donated source files available.

[jeremiahhorner]

"The separate "parts"  would still have to be put together in the modelling program, which means, you still have to get the modelling program, the appropriate flightsim version SDK, etc."

Of course, but following a plan and attaching a couple of wings would be much simpler than starting from scratch, and yet would still give the first-timer the satisfaction of building an airplane.

"You don't need specialized "parts" - not when you have so many donated source files available."

Yes but if the parts were designed to go together (including knowing how they change the flight dynamics), it would change things a bit.  For example: model the Bearhawk kitplane with all it's different options (and their subsequent impacts on performace) and allow the usuer to assemble to taste.  You get a "custom" airplane and the satisfaction (as well as education) of "assembling" it yourself.  This would be much more realistic than simply using a source file as choosing "such and such" engine would have impact on the final shape, weight, and performance specific to that aircraft.

[Alejandro Rhodes]

What format are you using ? I mean what format do this "Parts" are made?

as far I know you can make any MSFS(FS2002 FS9 & FSX) airplane using

[Brett_Henderson]

[quote][i]"The separate "parts"

[Alejandro Rhodes]

[quote]. You'll see a C172 floating above the ground.. but it will FLY like a 747

[Travis]

I think this might be a good way to get non-modellers into the spirit of the thing.

If you think about it, all of this could be done.

You take a model already in production and split it up (fuselage, cockpit, wings, tailplane parts, empennage, etc) and put each part in a separate gmax file.  Then save them all and start modifying each part, making sure you don't move or modify the areas that connect with another part of the aircraft.  Modify several different ways and select four or five to put into the file.  You now have several different ways an aircraft could be put together, and not worry about the newbie screwing around with modding parameters or moving bits about.

On to the airfile.  You create an airfile for the original model you made, then modify it to reflect what each bit you messed with in gmax  would do in the sim.  Pull each part out and paste it into its own notepad file, then save just that bit.  Now you have a full compliment of gmax parts that can be "pasted" together, as well as corresponding airfile parts that you can do the same thing with.

But how does the newbie get it all together?  You lay out simple instructions in the readme file.  You give them instructions on locating and downloading Gmax and installing it correctly.  Include a zip file of your folder that contains the converter provided by the MS SDK.  Tell them how to unzip it and place it within the Gmax file structure.  Explain the process of merging files so that they can pick which parts they want and port them over to the main file.  Describe in detail which parts are available and what the different characteristics are of each (longer wings give a greater glide slope, but hinder agility).  Let them choose which parts they want, and then tell them how to paste parts of the airfile together.  Painting would be done the same as any other paint instruction.

All of this would be included in a single download, and would create for more people getting interested in designing.  Once they see how fun it can be, they can decide for themselves whether or not to do it all.

[jeremiahhorner]

Travis  THANKYOU.... that is exactly what I was getting at.  I understand fully the concept of visual model versus flight model, I was suggesting the idea of being instructed on what changes to make to the .cfg/.air files according to the "parts" you chose to put in the model (obviously you can put whatever you want in the model and make it fly however....but we're simulating here.  I'm suggesting simulating the kit-building process.

But yes, exactly as Travis explained it!  In fact, I would be one of those "newbies" he spoke about.  I started a model once and didn't get very far.  It's daunting, for one; but also, I have an affinity for aviation not necessarily programming and CAD design.  So this concept would allow people like myself to "customize" and "construct" a plane in a way that simulates how it is done in the real world (kit builders don't start with a CAD drawing).

[Brett_Henderson]

Here are the complications and problems...

Air files can't be broken up into bits. They can be edited in their entirety, but not pieced together.

Aircraft.cfg files "can" be "broken" up... they're nothing but text documents. But cfg file editing can become problematic in a hurry, if you don't know what you're doing. Being able to cut/paste a cfg file without problems, would require attention to detail and knowledge of what you're doing and why, that would be just as much work (or more) then learning to simply edit a cfg file. It would be like learning to replace walls in a room to change colors, instead of just painting them. Your wiring and plumbing and structural integrity depend on PERFECT construction techniques... Pasting and hoping for the best would open an unbelieveable can of worms..

[jeremiahhorner]

Ah.  Well, it was a thought.

[Brett_Henderson]

[quote]Ah.

[HarvesteR]

something that could make this idea more feasible, and on it's own also be an awesome utility would be a Max Script that could calculate and output properly formatted .air data and .cfg data from measurements taken from the geometry itself

it's not at all impossible, although ambitious in the extreme... one would have to understand not only all the MaxScript required for this, but also how flight dynamics are written and read by the sim, not to mention figure out a way to extract these measurements from the geometry and convert them to flight data

but this task could potentially be made easier by this 'some assembly required' concept we're discussing here... having your parts already named, grouped and knowing their hierarchies and such, would make it all much easier to automate by script

and once you have a well defined structure of parts, this script could accommodate slight changes made to the final layout, such as moving the wing further up or down and things like that, and incorporate them into the flight data output

this is just an idea i just had, i'm not at all familiar with MaxScript (although i know it is powerful enough to do this) and i'm not volunteering for such an endeavour  ;) ...but it seemed like a good idea worth sharing

Cheers

[Dickert]

Forget it

[Alejandro Rhodes]

[quote]Forget it