Cameron Moore
cameron@unbeatenpath.net
+ Cameron Moore
+ cameron@unbeatenpath.net
+
+
First contact the author. If you get no response, send your - comments to the flightgear-users mailing list.
+ comments to the FlightGear-Users mailing list.Definitely read the FlightGear Installation and Getting - Started document available at - http://flightgear.org/Docs/.
-Also see the FlightGear/docs-mini/ directory in the source - distribution for various other helpful documents.
-See the About This Document section at the end of the FAQ.
See - http://flightgear.org/Downloads/. -
+Most FlightGear documentation is linked to from + http://flightgear.org/Docs/. + Definitely check out the FlightGear Installation and Getting + Started document available from the aforementioned location.
+Also see the FlightGear/docs-mini/ directory in the
+ source distribution for various other helpful documents.
The best place to get the latest development code is from our CVS - repository. See +
The official download page is + http://flightgear.org/Downloads/. + Source code is our primary form of distribution, but precompiled + binaries are available for Windows and SGI IRIX.
+Alternatively, FlightGear is packaged for Linux by SuSE, Debian + (sid), and Mandrake (Cooker) and can be directly installed through + those distributions.
+The latest development code is available for everyone through our + CVS repository. See http://flightgear.org/cvsResources/ for details.
Otherwise, you can get relatively up-to-date snapshots of the @@ -106,8 +268,23 @@
SimGear is a library of supporting code. SimGear is only needed + if you plan on compiling FlightGear -- it is not needed to run + precompiled binaries. For more information see + http://www.simgear.org/.
+While the base package only comes with scenery for the San Francisco Bay area, you can currently fly just about anywhere in the world. @@ -121,10 +298,13 @@ for some help navigating to some awesome locations.
We currently don't have any of our own models yet, but we have +
While we are working toward building our own 3D models, we have been given permission by several people to convert their models (which where originally intended for use with Microsoft Flight Simulator) to use with FlightGear. See Wolfram's Hangar @@ -133,15 +313,61 @@ information on how to convert models yourself.
We use the same navaid and airport dataset that X-Plane uses. The
+ current dataset can be found in the $FGROOT/Navaids/ and
+ $FGROOT/Airports/ directories. If you have updates or
+ corrections to the dataset, see
+ http://flightgear.org/Docs/AirNav/AptNavFAQ.FlightGear.html
+ for instructions on contacting the database maintainer.
A popular moving map display is avaliable under a separate + project called Atlas. See + http://atlas.sf.net/.
+We could do that, since the initial download is about 25 + megabytes. Especially for people who have to pay per-minute charges + for internet access, buying a CD is a convenient and possibly + cheaper option. Although we offer that service (see the website), we + encourage other groups to redistribute it for their users, especially + within an operating system distribution which makes installation even + faster and easier for new users.
+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.
+ versions of FlightGear, SimGear, plib, zlib, and metakit. If any of + the packages are out of sync with the others, compilation may fail.The FlightGear Downloads page (http://flightgear.org/Downloads/) should tell you what versions you need if you are trying to compile @@ -151,9 +377,9 @@ 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 - (http://mesa3d.org) + (http://mesa3d.org/) and your X server installed correctly. Windows users see - http://www.x-plane.com/SYSREQ/v5ibm.html, + http://www.x-plane.com/SYSREQ/v5ibm.html, and Mac users see http://www.x-plane.com/SYSREQ/v5mac.html.
@@ -163,8 +389,11 @@Update your gcc packages. See http://redhat.com/errata/ @@ -174,44 +403,141 @@
The scenery archive files (ie. w100n30.tar.gz) should be untarred
into the Scenery/ directory in your
$FG_ROOT.
See the README.Joystick file located in the + that can help configure your joystick. Run `fgjs` and then + copy the dot file it created into your home directory or add its + contents to your existing rc file.
+Also, see the README.Joystick file located in the
FlightGear/docs-mini/ directory of the source
distribution. This document is mirrored at
- http://rockfish.net/shell/aboutjoy.txt.
+ http://rockfish.net/fg/README.Joystick.
If you have a joystick with digital axes, see - http://www.unet.univie.ac.at/~a8603365/flightgear.html - for a patch to the development version of FlightGear.
+Your .fgfsrc file should simply be a list of
+ command-line options with one option per line. The file is not
+ an XML file.
If you would rather use an XML configuration file, you can add
+ something like the following in your .fgfsrc
+
+ --config=/path/to/my/config.xml
+
Almost every option corresponds to a property, so you can choose + to use whichever method best suits your needs.
With the default installation, libmk4.so.0 is installed into
+ /usr/local/lib. You need to ensure that that path is
+ listed in /etc/ld.so.conf, then run `ldconfig`as
+ root.
In short, your GL libraries are broken. So far only Red Hat 7.x + users have experienced this (see + http://www.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=18867). + The only solutions are possibly complicated ones: you can either + change distributions (most of us prefer Debian) or upgrade/downgrade + your Mesa libs.
++ + Why do some other GL applications work though? + Well, + Steve Baker (Mr. PLIB) has explained this on the plib-users list + (http://www.geocrawler.com/lists/3/SourceForge/1867/0/6470648/). +
+The problem is almost certainly that your base package is out of + sync with FlightGear. Many configurable parts of FlightGear are + defined in XML files contained in the base package.
+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.
+There has been discussion about using OpenAL
+ (http://www.openal.org/)
+ 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 $HOME/.fgfsrc
+ file).
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.
-Linux users: If you are an nVidia user, follow their +
+ Linux users: 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 @@ -224,8 +550,11 @@ like Quake3.
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 @@ -246,9 +575,13 @@
This means that running FlightGear with the following options may not even get the desired result:
-./runfgfs --fog-disable --shading-flat --disable-skyblend \
- --disable-textures --disable-clouds --disable-sound \
- --disable-panel --enable-hud --disable-anti-alias-hud
+ ./runfgfs --fog-disable --shading-flat --disable-skyblend \
+
+ --disable-textures --disable-clouds --disable-sound \
+
+ --disable-panel --enable-hud --disable-anti-alias-hud
+
I could even imagine that adding --enable-wireframe doesn't work on these machines (I would be happy to be proven wrong though).
On a machine like O2 the following options give an acceptable @@ -258,8 +591,23 @@ options would be appropriate for your situation.
There are two ways. One way is to hide the panel without the HUD + showing. To hide the panel, use Shift+P; To make the HUD + disappear, use H. The second way is to use the alternative + HUD by Shift+I (Use I to switch back).
+In his infinite wisdom the FlightGear Grand Master decided that planes were to valuable to allow them to be destroyed by novice pilots @@ -278,70 +626,83 @@ and keep that airspeed up!!!
If you are using a development version of FlightGear, make - sure you also have the latest base package. See - http://rockfish.net/fg/ - for details on getting the latest CVS version.
-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.
-There has been discussion about using OpenAL
- (http://www.openal.org)
- 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 $HOME/.fgfsrc
- file).
With the default installation, libmk4.so.0 is installed into
- /usr/local/lib. You need to ensure that that path is
- listed in /etc/ld.so.conf, then run `ldconfig`as
- root.
This is probably caused by a line-ending problem in the timezone + files. Win32 users can resolve the problem by downloading a DOS to + UNIX conversion utility available at + http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~eazdluf/d2u.zip. + Run as `d2u *.tab` from within the timezone directory to fix + your timezone files.
See - http://jsbsim.sf.net.
+Mostly C++ with some supporting C code that's primary contained + within SimGear.
See - http://home.t-online.de/home/Wolfram.Kuss/. +
To define an aircraft for FlightGear's primary FDM (JSBSIM), + see http://jsbsim.sf.net/.
+If you want a simpler FDM to work with, try your hand at YASim,
+ an alternative FDM. For an guide on creating a YASim aircraft,
+ look in the FlightGear base package for
+ Aircraft-yasim/README.yasim.
You can import the 3D model and textures, but the flight dynamics + (the .AIR file) must be completely redone for FlightGear. See + http://home.t-online.de/home/Wolfram.Kuss/ + for help importing .MDL files and textures.
+If you wish to import a model made with gmax, you will need to + convert it to .MDL format using Microsoft's MakeMDL SDK which + is available at + http://zone.msn.com/flightsim/FS02DevDeskSDK08.asp.
See the README.xmlpanel file located in the
FlightGear/docs-mini/ directory of the source
@@ -350,8 +711,11 @@
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 @@ -359,68 +723,187 @@
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:
-fgfs --lat=45.50 --lon=-75.73 2>&1 | tee fgfs.log
+ fgfs --lat=45.50 --lon=-75.73 2>&1 | tee fgfs.log
+
The altitude is probably in feet, so divide the starting altitude by 3.28.
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:
-Loading tile /usr/local/Scenery/w080n40/w076n45/1712601
+ Loading tile /usr/local/Scenery/w080n40/w076n45/1712601
+
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 + consisting of the tile name with the extension ".stg". 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:
-/usr/local/Scenery/w080n40/w076n45/1712601.ind
+ /usr/local/Scenery/w080n40/w076n45/1712601.stg
+
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:
-OBJECT_STATIC Towerax.ac -75.73 45.40 60 0
Save the changes to the .ind file, restart FlightGear, and +
+ OBJECT_STATIC Towerax.ac -75.73 45.40 60 0
+
Save the changes to the .stg file, restart FlightGear, and enjoy.
NOTE: The above information was taken from the following mailing list post: http://www.geocrawler.com/archives/3/11854/2001/6/0/5991409/. See that page if this one doesn't make sense.
+An alternative approach using PPE is described at + http://mail.flightgear.org/pipermail/flightgear-devel/2001-December/002239.html + by Norman Vine.
+Contributing to the 2D panel doesn't require any coding at all, + just a minimal knowledge of XML syntax (i.e. five minutes' worth) + and good skills with drawing and/or paint programs. Every instrument + on the current panel, with the partial exception of the magnetic + compass, is defined entirely in XML with no custom C++ code. If + you want to get started, take a look at John Check's excellent intro + (http://rockfish.net/fg/README.xmlpanel). +
+Likewise, if you want to create a 3D cockpit for FlightGear, or to + create buildings, external aircraft models, etc., your help is + *desperately* needed. The only rule is to go easy on the triangles + -- a model with 50,000 triangles probably won't be usable in + FlightGear, and one with 5,000 triangles, only marginally. If you + can design a nice 3D cockpit interior for a Cessna 172 (for example) + in a 3D design program such as ac3D or ppe, we have coders who will + be happy to add the support code in the C++.
+If, on the other hand, you really want to get your hands dirty + with C++ coding, you'll have to buy a good OpenGL book eventually. + However, FlightGear uses a high-level library, plib, that hides most + of the details of OpenGL. To get started with 3D C++ coding, you + can take a look at the plib documentation and learn only as much + OpenGL as you need, when you need it.
+You can add your airport to the
+ $FGROOT/Airports/default.apt.gz file, but to get the
+ airport to show up visually, you will have to rebuild the scenery
+ around the airport. The format of the default.apt file is
+ documented at
+ http://flightgear.org/Docs/AirNav/AptNavFAQ.FlightGear.html.
Yes, though it can be a difficult task. FlightGear's scenery + generation is handled by a sister project, TerraGear. For more + details, see + http://terragear.org/.
http://www.navfltsm.addr.com/ - is a very good site for learning techniques for navigation. Check - it out!
-There is a bit of info on aileron vs. rudder here: - http://www.arundel.net/xplane/html/crosswind.html - and + is a very good site for learning techniques for navigation. Also see http://www.monmouth.com/~jsd/how/.
There is a bit of info on aileron vs. rudder here: + http://www.monmouth.com/~jsd/how/. +
+We have an initial stab at this that is incomplete and only seems + to work under Linux. We'd love to find someone to pick up the + slack here and develop this further. Specifically, plib now has + some low level networking support for mult-player games. It would + also be nice to develop support for the DIS protocol.
+No, not at this time. Most of our developers are primarily + interested and focused on civilian aviation. We aren't explicitly + excluding these features -- we just haven't had anyone who seriously + wanted to develop these areas.
+This error cropped up after the release of v0.7.6. To fix the
- problem, add "#include <stdlib.h>" to the top of viewer.cxx.
#include <stdlib.h>" to the top of viewer.cxx.
+
+
+ About This Document
+
+ FlightGear FAQ
+
$Revision$
$Date$
+
+ This document generated from XML using - Sablotron. -
Cameron Moore