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<h1 align="center">FlightGear FAQ</h1>
<p align="center"><small>Cameron Moore<br><a href="mailto:cameron@unbeatenpath.net?subject=FlightGear%20FAQ">cameron@unbeatenpath.net</a></small></p><hr noshade="yes">
<h2>Introduction</h2>
<p>Welcome to the FlightGear FAQ. Here you will find the answers to
some questions that are frequently asked on our mailing lists. If
you have a question that is not answered here, feel free to ask
us on our mailing lists. Enjoy</p>
<hr noshade="yes"><h2><a name="toc">Table of Contents</a></h2><h4>1 -
<a href="#1">The FAQ</a></h4><div class="indent">1.1 -
<a href="#1.1">Where can I get the latest version of this FAQ?</a></div><div class="indent">1.2 -
<a href="#1.2">Who do I contact if I have comments about this FAQ?</a></div><div class="indent">1.3 -
<a href="#1.3">What other important documentation should I read?</a></div><div class="indent">1.4 -
<a href="#1.4">How old is this document?</a></div><br><h4>2 -
<a href="#2">Distribution</a></h4><div class="indent">2.1 -
<a href="#2.1">Where is the latest distribution of FlightGear?</a></div><div class="indent">2.2 -
<a href="#2.2">Where can I find the newest snapshots?</a></div><div class="indent">2.3 -
<a href="#2.3">Where can I fly and where do I get the scenery?</a></div><div class="indent">2.4 -
<a href="#2.4">Where can I get some different 3D models for my plane?</a></div><br><h4>3 -
<a href="#3">Compiling</a></h4><div class="indent">3.1 -
<a href="#3.1">Why won't FlightGear compile?</a></div><div class="indent">3.2 -
<a href="#3.2">I'm using RedHat 7, and ...?</a></div><br><h4>4 -
<a href="#4">Configuring</a></h4><div class="indent">4.1 -
<a href="#4.1">How do I install new scenery?</a></div><div class="indent">4.2 -
<a href="#4.2">How do I setup my joystick(s)?</a></div><br><h4>5 -
<a href="#5">Running</a></h4><div class="indent">5.1 -
<a href="#5.1">Why is FlightGear so slow?</a></div><div class="indent">5.2 -
<a href="#5.2">Why is my SGI machine so slow?</a></div><div class="indent">5.3 -
<a href="#5.3">Stuck upside down after "crash"?</a></div><div class="indent">5.4 -
<a href="#5.4">What happened to the panel, keyboard, etc?</a></div><div class="indent">5.5 -
<a href="#5.5">Why doesn't audio work properly under Irix?</a></div><div class="indent">5.6 -
<a href="#5.6">Why do I get an error loading libmk4.so.0?</a></div><br><h4>6 -
<a href="#6">Hacking</a></h4><div class="indent">6.1 -
<a href="#6.1">How do I design a flight dynamics model for a new plane?</a></div><div class="indent">6.2 -
<a href="#6.2">How do I import planes from Microsoft Flight Simulator?</a></div><div class="indent">6.3 -
<a href="#6.3">How do I import BGL scenery from Microsoft Flight Simulator?</a></div><div class="indent">6.4 -
<a href="#6.4">How do I design or modify a panel?</a></div><div class="indent">6.5 -
<a href="#6.5">How do I place objects, like buildings, into FlightGear?</a></div><br><h4>7 -
<a href="#7">Flying</a></h4><div class="indent">7.1 -
<a href="#7.1">Where can I learn about instrument flying and navigation?</a></div><div class="indent">7.2 -
<a href="#7.2">What is the difference between Aileron and Rudder?</a></div><br><h4>8 -
<a href="#8">FlightGear v0.7.6</a></h4><div class="indent">8.1 -
<a href="#8.1">Why do I get an error in viewer.cxx about `exit' being undeclared?</a></div><br>
<hr><h2><a name="1">1 -
The FAQ</a></h2>
<b><a name="1.1">1.1 -
<u>Where can I get the latest version of this FAQ?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>
<a href="http://flightgear.org/Docs/FlightGear-FAQ.html">http://flightgear.org/Docs/FlightGear-FAQ.html</a>
</p>
</div>
<b><a name="1.2">1.2 -
<u>Who do I contact if I have comments about this FAQ?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>First contact the author. If you get no response, send your
comments to the flightgear-users mailing list.</p>
</div>
<b><a name="1.3">1.3 -
<u>What other important documentation should I read?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>Definitely read the <i>FlightGear Installation and Getting
Started</i> document available at
<a href="http://flightgear.org/Docs/">http://flightgear.org/Docs/</a>.</p>
<p>Also see the FlightGear/docs-mini/ directory in the source
distribution for various other helpful documents.</p>
</div>
<b><a name="1.4">1.4 -
<u>How old is this document?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>See the <i>About This Document</i> section at the end of the FAQ.</p>
</div>
<hr><h2><a name="2">2 -
Distribution</a></h2>
<b><a name="2.1">2.1 -
<u>Where is the latest distribution of FlightGear?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>See
<a href="http://flightgear.org/Downloads/">http://flightgear.org/Downloads/</a>.
</p>
</div>
<b><a name="2.2">2.2 -
<u>Where can I find the newest snapshots?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>The best place to get the latest development code is from our CVS
repository. See
<a href="http://flightgear.org/cvsResources/">http://flightgear.org/cvsResources/</a> for details.
</p>
<p>Otherwise, you can get relatively up-to-date snapshots of the
development tree at
<a href="ftp://flightgear.sourceforge.net/pub/flightgear/Devel/Snapshots/">ftp://flightgear.sourceforge.net/pub/flightgear/Devel/Snapshots/</a>.
</p>
</div>
<b><a name="2.3">2.3 -
<u>Where can I fly and where do I get the scenery?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>While the base package only comes with scenery for the San Francisco
Bay area, you can currently fly just about anywhere in the world.
See the <i>"Additional Scenery"</i> section of
<a href="http://flightgear.org/Downloads/">http://flightgear.org/Downloads/</a>
for more information or go directly to our graphical downloader at
<a href="http://flightgear.org/Downloads/world-scenery.html">http://flightgear.org/Downloads/world-scenery.html</a>.
</p>
<p>Also visit our <i>"Places to Fly"</i> section of the website
(<a href="http://flightgear.org/Places/">http://flightgear.org/Places/</a>)
for some help navigating to some awesome locations.</p>
</div>
<b><a name="2.4">2.4 -
<u>Where can I get some different 3D models for my plane?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>We currently don't have any of our own models yet, but we have
been given permission by several people to convert their models (which
where originally intended for use with <i>Microsoft Flight
Simulator</i>) to use with FlightGear. See Wolfram's Hangar
(<a href="http://home.t-online.de/home/Wolfram.Kuss/">http://home.t-online.de/home/Wolfram.Kuss/</a>)
for a list of what we currently have available as well as
information on how to convert models yourself.</p>
</div>
<hr><h2><a name="3">3 -
Compiling</a></h2>
<b><a name="3.1">3.1 -
<u>Why won't FlightGear compile?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>Well, that depends. First make sure you are using the appropriate
versions of FlightGear, SimGear, and plib. If any of the packages are
out of sync with the others, compilation may fail.</p>
<p>The FlightGear <i>Downloads</i> page
(<a href="http://flightgear.org/Downloads/">http://flightgear.org/Downloads/</a>)
should tell you what versions you need if you are trying to compile
the latest stable release. If you are using a development snapshot,
make sure all three packages are up-to-date.</p>
<p>Also ensure that you have some implementation of OpenGL with glut
support with the appropriate header files. Linux users with nVidia
cards should make sure you have the latest drivers from nVidia. Other
Linux users make sure you have Mesa3D
(<a href="http://mesa3d.org">http://mesa3d.org</a>)
and your X server installed correctly. Windows users see
<a href="http://www.x-plane.com/SYSREQ/v5ibm.htm">http://www.x-plane.com/SYSREQ/v5ibm.html</a>,
and Mac users see
<a href="http://www.x-plane.com/SYSREQ/v5mac.html">http://www.x-plane.com/SYSREQ/v5mac.html</a>.
</p>
<p>If your problems persist, subscribe to our FlightGear-Users mailing
list and let us know what problem you're having. See
<a href="http://flightgear.org/mail.html">http://flightgear.org/mail.html</a> for help with this.
</p>
</div>
<b><a name="3.2">3.2 -
<u>I'm using RedHat 7, and ...?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>Update your gcc packages. See
<a href="http://redhat.com/errata/">http://redhat.com/errata/</a>
to fix it and
<a href="http://www.gnu.org/software/gcc/gcc-2.96.html">http://www.gnu.org/software/gcc/gcc-2.96.html</a>
for an explanation why.</p>
</div>
<hr><h2><a name="4">4 -
Configuring</a></h2>
<b><a name="4.1">4.1 -
<u>How do I install new scenery?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>The scenery archive files (ie. w100n30.tar.gz) should be untarred
into the <code>Scenery/</code> directory in your
<code>$FG_ROOT</code>.</p>
</div>
<b><a name="4.2">4.2 -
<u>How do I setup my joystick(s)?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<!--
<p>FlightGear should come with a helpful program called <i>`fgjs`</i>
that can help configure your joystick.</p>
-->
<p>See the README.Joystick file located in the
<code>FlightGear/docs-mini/</code> directory of the source
distribution. This document is mirrored at
<a href="http://rockfish.net/shell/aboutjoy.txt">http://rockfish.net/shell/aboutjoy.txt</a>.
</p>
<p>If you have a joystick with digital axes, see
<a href="http://www.unet.univie.ac.at/~a8603365/flightgear.html">http://www.unet.univie.ac.at/~a8603365/flightgear.html</a>
for a patch to the development version of FlightGear.</p>
</div>
<hr><h2><a name="5">5 -
Running</a></h2>
<b><a name="5.1">5.1 -
<u>Why is FlightGear so slow?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>FlightGear supports hardware acceleration, but it seems not to be
activated. Make sure you have OpenGL libraries installed and
configured properly and make sure you have the latest drivers for your
video card.</p>
<p><b>Linux users</b>: If you are an nVidia user, follow their
directions on getting your card working. For most other users, make
sure Mesa is installed property and ensure that you have the
appropriate kernel device drivers for your card. Most people (and
distributions) use modules for their video card device drivers; run
<i>`lsmod`</i> as root to see what modules are loaded. You should also
make sure that you are loading the appropriate modules in your
XF86Config and that your video device section is correct. Now try
running an OpenGL application (other than FlightGear) to see how it
performs. You can try the <i>gears</i> demo from Mesa or something
like <i>Quake3</i>.</p>
</div>
<b><a name="5.2">5.2 -
<u>Why is my SGI machine so slow?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>First of all, one of the most common mistakes on SGI hardware is to
forget to specify --fog-fastest. On most SGI machines the EXP2 shading
model isn't hardware supported resulting in frame rates below 1 frame
per second (fps).</p>
<p>FlightGear makes extensive use of the OpenGL z-buffer feature,which
on most older SGI hardware is only supported in software. This means
that the CPU has to do all the z-buffer calculations in addition to the
other tasks FlightGear involves (flight dynamics, scenery tracking,
pushing commands into the graphics queue, etc). The following features
are software rendered on low-end SGI machines (like Indy and
Indigo):</p>
<ul>
<li>stencil and accumulation buffer</li>
<li>depth queuing and depth buffering</li>
<li>fogging, lighting, clipping and transforms</li>
<li>texturing</li>
</ul>
<p>This means that running FlightGear with the following options may not
even get the desired result:</p>
<p><code>./runfgfs --fog-disable --shading-flat --disable-skyblend \</code><br>
<code>--disable-textures --disable-clouds --disable-sound \</code><br>
<code>--disable-panel --enable-hud --disable-anti-alias-hud</code></p>
<p>I could even imagine that adding --enable-wireframe doesn't work on
these machines (I would be happy to be proven wrong though).</p>
<p>On a machine like O2 the following options give an acceptable
result:</p>
<code>./runfgfs --fog-fastest --disable-sound</code>
<p>Since I don't have access to other SGI hardware I can't tell which
options would be appropriate for your situation.</p>
</div>
<b><a name="5.3">5.3 -
<u>Stuck upside down after "crash"?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>In his infinite wisdom the FlightGear Grand Master decided that
planes were to valuable to allow them to be destroyed by novice pilots
who seemed to crash a lot. The fact that nobody has bothered to model
crashes may have something to do with it too. :-)</p>
<p>The result of this as you have noticed is that with a little
practice an ingenuity you can trim the ship to fly inverted along the
ground.</p>
<p>The quick answer is to hit Ctrl+U (with the default key bindings)
to warp the plane up 1000ft.</p>
<p>For the stubborn people out there: The trick to learn is to roll
back to normal (non inverted) do this by nursing the elevator to get
to about 500 feet or so and use the ailerons to snap roll 180*.
This is all good avionics except for the plane not destroying
itself. Remember the controls work in reverse when you are inverted
and keep that airspeed up!!!</p>
</div>
<b><a name="5.4">5.4 -
<u>What happened to the panel, keyboard, etc?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>If you are using a development version of FlightGear, make
sure you also have the latest base package. See
<a href="http://rockfish.net/fg/">http://rockfish.net/fg/</a>
for details on getting the latest CVS version.</p>
</div>
<b><a name="5.5">5.5 -
<u>Why doesn't audio work properly under Irix?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>FlightGear (as of June 2001) uses the Portable Libraries (PLIB)
for playing audio. The audio queue implementation of PLIB is far from
optimal (in fact it's just wrong). This seems to work on other
platforms quite well, but Irix expects things to be programmed
properly.</p>
<p>There has been discussion about using OpenAL
(<a href="http://www.openal.org">http://www.openal.org</a>)
for the next release of both PLIB and FlightGear. Tests show that
the OpenAL audio implementation does the job right, meaning that
these audio problems should be gone by then. In the mean time it is
best to disable audio on Irix completely (by adding --disable-sound
either on the command line or to your <code>$HOME/.fgfsrc</code>
file).</p>
</div>
<b><a name="5.6">5.6 -
<u>Why do I get an error loading libmk4.so.0?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>With the default installation, libmk4.so.0 is installed into
<code>/usr/local/lib</code>. You need to ensure that that path is
listed in <code>/etc/ld.so.conf</code>, then run <i>`ldconfig`</i>as
root.</p>
</div>
<hr><h2><a name="6">6 -
Hacking</a></h2>
<b><a name="6.1">6.1 -
<u>How do I design a flight dynamics model for a new plane?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>See
<a href="http://jsbsim.sf.net">http://jsbsim.sf.net</a>.</p>
</div>
<b><a name="6.2">6.2 -
<u>How do I import planes from Microsoft Flight Simulator?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>See
<a href="http://home.t-online.de/home/Wolfram.Kuss/">http://home.t-online.de/home/Wolfram.Kuss/</a>.
</p>
</div>
<b><a name="6.3">6.3 -
<u>How do I import BGL scenery from Microsoft Flight Simulator?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>See
<a href="http://matrixsoft.50megs.com/BGL/">http://matrixsoft.50megs.com/BGL/</a>.
</p>
</div>
<b><a name="6.4">6.4 -
<u>How do I design or modify a panel?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>See the README.xmlpanel file located in the
<code>FlightGear/docs-mini/</code> directory of the source
distribution. This document is mirrored at
<a href="http://rockfish.net/fg/README.xmlpanel">http://rockfish.net/fg/README.xmlpanel</a>.
</p>
</div>
<b><a name="6.5">6.5 -
<u>How do I place objects, like buildings, into FlightGear?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>First, ensure that you have v0.7.7 or later, the scenery files
where you plan to place the object, the actual model, and the
longitude and latitude where you plan to place the object.</p>
<p>Now get the altitude for your point. If you don't want to
calculate this yourself, start FlightGear at your location and take
note of the altitude. Here's an example command:</p>
<p><code>fgfs --lat=45.50 --lon=-75.73 2>&amp;1 | tee fgfs.log</code></p>
<p>The altitude is probably in feet, so divide the starting altitude
by 3.28.</p>
<p>Search the output log file for the first occurrence of the string
"Loading tile" and take note of the filename. In the above example,
the output line looks like:</p>
<p><code>Loading tile /usr/local/Scenery/w080n40/w076n45/1712601</code></p>
<p>Copy a 3D model in a format that Plib understands to the same
directory as the tile file. Edit the text file in that directory
consisting of the tile name with the extension ".ind". The file will
already exist if there is an airport on the tile; otherwise, you can
create it from scratch. In our example, the filename is:</p>
<p><code>/usr/local/Scenery/w080n40/w076n45/1712601.ind</code></p>
<p>At the end of the file, add a new entry for your object,
consisting of the word "OBJECT_STATIC" followed by the model name,
the longitude in degrees, the latitude in degrees, the altitude in
meters, and the heading in degrees. In our example the line looks
like:</p>
<p><code>OBJECT_STATIC Towerax.ac -75.73 45.40 60 0</code></p>
<p>Save the changes to the .ind file, restart FlightGear, and
enjoy.</p>
<p>NOTE: The above information was taken from the following mailing
list post:
<a href="http://www.geocrawler.com/archives/3/11854/2001/6/0/5991409/">http://www.geocrawler.com/archives/3/11854/2001/6/0/5991409/</a>.
See that page if this one doesn't make sense.</p>
</div>
<hr><h2><a name="7">7 -
Flying</a></h2>
<b><a name="7.1">7.1 -
<u>Where can I learn about instrument flying and navigation?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>
<a href="http://www.navfltsm.addr.com/">http://www.navfltsm.addr.com/</a>
is a very good site for learning techniques for navigation. Check
it out!</p>
</div>
<b><a name="7.2">7.2 -
<u>What is the difference between Aileron and Rudder?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>There is a bit of info on aileron vs. rudder here:
<a href="http://www.arundel.net/xplane/html/crosswind.html">http://www.arundel.net/xplane/html/crosswind.html</a>
and
<a href="http://www.monmouth.com/~jsd/how/">http://www.monmouth.com/~jsd/how/</a>.
</p>
</div>
<hr><h2><a name="8">8 -
FlightGear v0.7.6</a></h2>
<b><a name="8.1">8.1 -
<u>Why do I get an error in viewer.cxx about `exit' being undeclared?</u></a></b>
<div class="indent">
<p>This error cropped up after the release of v0.7.6. To fix the
problem, add "<code>#include &lt;stdlib.h></code>" to the top of viewer.cxx.</p>
</div>
<hr noshade="yes"><a name="about"><h2>About This Document</h2></a><b>FlightGear FAQ</b><br>$Revision$<br>$Date$<br><p><small>
This document generated from XML using
<a href="http://www.gingerall.com/charlie-bin/get/webGA/act/sablotron.act">Sablotron</a>.
</small></p><address>Cameron Moore<br>cameron@unbeatenpath.net<br></address></body></html>