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<html lang="en"><!-- $Id$ --><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"><title>FlightGear FAQ</title><style type="text/css">
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<h1 align="center">FlightGear FAQ</h1>
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<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">
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<h2>Introduction</h2>
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<p>Welcome to the FlightGear FAQ. Here you will find the answers to
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some questions that are frequently asked on our mailing lists. If
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you have a question that is not answered here, feel free to ask
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us on our mailing lists. Enjoy</p>
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<hr noshade="yes"><h2><a name="toc">Table of Contents</a></h2><h4>1 -
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<a href="#1">The FAQ</a></h4><div class="indent">1.1 -
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<a href="#1.1">Where can I get the latest version of this FAQ?</a></div><div class="indent">1.2 -
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<a href="#1.2">Who do I contact if I have comments about this FAQ?</a></div><div class="indent">1.3 -
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<a href="#1.3">What other important documentation should I read?</a></div><div class="indent">1.4 -
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<a href="#1.4">How old is this document?</a></div><br><h4>2 -
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<a href="#2">Distribution</a></h4><div class="indent">2.1 -
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<a href="#2.1">Where is the latest distribution of FlightGear?</a></div><div class="indent">2.2 -
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<a href="#2.2">Where can I find the newest snapshots?</a></div><div class="indent">2.3 -
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<a href="#2.3">Where can I fly and where do I get the scenery?</a></div><div class="indent">2.4 -
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<a href="#2.4">Where can I get some different 3D models for my plane?</a></div><br><h4>3 -
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<a href="#3">Compiling</a></h4><div class="indent">3.1 -
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<a href="#3.1">Why won't FlightGear compile?</a></div><div class="indent">3.2 -
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<a href="#3.2">I'm using RedHat 7, and ...?</a></div><br><h4>4 -
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<a href="#4">Configuring</a></h4><div class="indent">4.1 -
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<a href="#4.1">How do I install new scenery?</a></div><div class="indent">4.2 -
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<a href="#4.2">How do I setup my joystick(s)?</a></div><br><h4>5 -
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<a href="#5">Running</a></h4><div class="indent">5.1 -
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<a href="#5.1">Why is FlightGear so slow?</a></div><div class="indent">5.2 -
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<a href="#5.2">Why is my SGI machine so slow?</a></div><div class="indent">5.3 -
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<a href="#5.3">Stuck upside down after "crash"?</a></div><div class="indent">5.4 -
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<a href="#5.4">What happened to the panel, keyboard, etc?</a></div><div class="indent">5.5 -
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<a href="#5.5">Why doesn't audio work properly under Irix?</a></div><div class="indent">5.6 -
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<a href="#5.6">Why do I get an error loading libmk4.so.0?</a></div><br><h4>6 -
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<a href="#6">Hacking</a></h4><div class="indent">6.1 -
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<a href="#6.1">How do I design a flight dynamics model for a new plane?</a></div><div class="indent">6.2 -
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<a href="#6.2">How do I import planes from Microsoft Flight Simulator?</a></div><div class="indent">6.3 -
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<a href="#6.3">How do I import BGL scenery from Microsoft Flight Simulator?</a></div><div class="indent">6.4 -
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<a href="#6.4">How do I design or modify a panel?</a></div><div class="indent">6.5 -
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<a href="#6.5">How do I place objects, like buildings, into FlightGear?</a></div><br><h4>7 -
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<a href="#7">Flying</a></h4><div class="indent">7.1 -
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<a href="#7.1">Where can I learn about instrument flying and navigation?</a></div><div class="indent">7.2 -
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<a href="#7.2">What is the difference between Aileron and Rudder?</a></div><br><h4>8 -
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<a href="#8">FlightGear v0.7.6</a></h4><div class="indent">8.1 -
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<a href="#8.1">Why do I get an error in viewer.cxx about `exit' being undeclared?</a></div><br>
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<hr><h2><a name="1">1 -
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The FAQ</a></h2>
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<b><a name="1.1">1.1 -
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<u>Where can I get the latest version of this FAQ?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>
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<a href="http://flightgear.org/Docs/FlightGear-FAQ.html">http://flightgear.org/Docs/FlightGear-FAQ.html</a>
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</p>
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</div>
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<b><a name="1.2">1.2 -
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<u>Who do I contact if I have comments about this FAQ?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>First contact the author. If you get no response, send your
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comments to the flightgear-users mailing list.</p>
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</div>
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<b><a name="1.3">1.3 -
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<u>What other important documentation should I read?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>Definitely read the <i>FlightGear Installation and Getting
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Started</i> document available at
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<a href="http://flightgear.org/Docs/">http://flightgear.org/Docs/</a>.</p>
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<p>Also see the FlightGear/docs-mini/ directory in the source
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distribution for various other helpful documents.</p>
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</div>
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<b><a name="1.4">1.4 -
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<u>How old is this document?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>See the <i>About This Document</i> section at the end of the FAQ.</p>
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</div>
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<hr><h2><a name="2">2 -
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Distribution</a></h2>
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<b><a name="2.1">2.1 -
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<u>Where is the latest distribution of FlightGear?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>See
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<a href="http://flightgear.org/Downloads/">http://flightgear.org/Downloads/</a>.
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</p>
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</div>
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<b><a name="2.2">2.2 -
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<u>Where can I find the newest snapshots?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>The best place to get the latest development code is from our CVS
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repository. See
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<a href="http://flightgear.org/cvsResources/">http://flightgear.org/cvsResources/</a> for details.
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</p>
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<p>Otherwise, you can get relatively up-to-date snapshots of the
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development tree at
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<a href="ftp://flightgear.sourceforge.net/pub/flightgear/Devel/Snapshots/">ftp://flightgear.sourceforge.net/pub/flightgear/Devel/Snapshots/</a>.
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</p>
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</div>
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<b><a name="2.3">2.3 -
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<u>Where can I fly and where do I get the scenery?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>While the base package only comes with scenery for the San Francisco
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Bay area, you can currently fly just about anywhere in the world.
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See the <i>"Additional Scenery"</i> section of
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<a href="http://flightgear.org/Downloads/">http://flightgear.org/Downloads/</a>
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for more information or go directly to our graphical downloader at
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<a href="http://flightgear.org/Downloads/world-scenery.html">http://flightgear.org/Downloads/world-scenery.html</a>.
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</p>
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<p>Also visit our <i>"Places to Fly"</i> section of the website
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(<a href="http://flightgear.org/Places/">http://flightgear.org/Places/</a>)
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for some help navigating to some awesome locations.</p>
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</div>
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<b><a name="2.4">2.4 -
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<u>Where can I get some different 3D models for my plane?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>We currently don't have any of our own models yet, but we have
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been given permission by several people to convert their models (which
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where originally intended for use with <i>Microsoft Flight
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Simulator</i>) to use with FlightGear. See Wolfram's Hangar
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(<a href="http://home.t-online.de/home/Wolfram.Kuss/">http://home.t-online.de/home/Wolfram.Kuss/</a>)
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for a list of what we currently have available as well as
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information on how to convert models yourself.</p>
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</div>
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<hr><h2><a name="3">3 -
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Compiling</a></h2>
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<b><a name="3.1">3.1 -
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<u>Why won't FlightGear compile?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>Well, that depends. First make sure you are using the appropriate
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versions of FlightGear, SimGear, and plib. If any of the packages are
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out of sync with the others, compilation may fail.</p>
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<p>The FlightGear <i>Downloads</i> page
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(<a href="http://flightgear.org/Downloads/">http://flightgear.org/Downloads/</a>)
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should tell you what versions you need if you are trying to compile
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the latest stable release. If you are using a development snapshot,
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make sure all three packages are up-to-date.</p>
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<p>Also ensure that you have some implementation of OpenGL with glut
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support with the appropriate header files. Linux users with nVidia
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cards should make sure you have the latest drivers from nVidia. Other
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Linux users make sure you have Mesa3D
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(<a href="http://mesa3d.org">http://mesa3d.org</a>)
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and your X server installed correctly. Windows users see
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<a href="http://www.x-plane.com/SYSREQ/v5ibm.htm">http://www.x-plane.com/SYSREQ/v5ibm.html</a>,
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and Mac users see
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<a href="http://www.x-plane.com/SYSREQ/v5mac.html">http://www.x-plane.com/SYSREQ/v5mac.html</a>.
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</p>
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<p>If your problems persist, subscribe to our FlightGear-Users mailing
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list and let us know what problem you're having. See
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<a href="http://flightgear.org/mail.html">http://flightgear.org/mail.html</a> for help with this.
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</p>
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</div>
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<b><a name="3.2">3.2 -
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<u>I'm using RedHat 7, and ...?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>Update your gcc packages. See
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<a href="http://redhat.com/errata/">http://redhat.com/errata/</a>
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to fix it and
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<a href="http://www.gnu.org/software/gcc/gcc-2.96.html">http://www.gnu.org/software/gcc/gcc-2.96.html</a>
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for an explanation why.</p>
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</div>
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<hr><h2><a name="4">4 -
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Configuring</a></h2>
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<b><a name="4.1">4.1 -
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<u>How do I install new scenery?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>The scenery archive files (ie. w100n30.tar.gz) should be untarred
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into the <code>Scenery/</code> directory in your
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<code>$FG_ROOT</code>.</p>
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</div>
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<b><a name="4.2">4.2 -
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<u>How do I setup my joystick(s)?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<!--
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<p>FlightGear should come with a helpful program called <i>`fgjs`</i>
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that can help configure your joystick.</p>
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-->
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<p>See the README.Joystick file located in the
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<code>FlightGear/docs-mini/</code> directory of the source
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distribution. This document is mirrored at
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<a href="http://rockfish.net/shell/aboutjoy.txt">http://rockfish.net/shell/aboutjoy.txt</a>.
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</p>
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<p>If you have a joystick with digital axes, see
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<a href="http://www.unet.univie.ac.at/~a8603365/flightgear.html">http://www.unet.univie.ac.at/~a8603365/flightgear.html</a>
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for a patch to the development version of FlightGear.</p>
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</div>
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<hr><h2><a name="5">5 -
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Running</a></h2>
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<b><a name="5.1">5.1 -
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<u>Why is FlightGear so slow?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>FlightGear supports hardware acceleration, but it seems not to be
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activated. Make sure you have OpenGL libraries installed and
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configured properly and make sure you have the latest drivers for your
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video card.</p>
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<p><b>Linux users</b>: If you are an nVidia user, follow their
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directions on getting your card working. For most other users, make
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sure Mesa is installed property and ensure that you have the
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appropriate kernel device drivers for your card. Most people (and
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distributions) use modules for their video card device drivers; run
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<i>`lsmod`</i> as root to see what modules are loaded. You should also
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make sure that you are loading the appropriate modules in your
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XF86Config and that your video device section is correct. Now try
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running an OpenGL application (other than FlightGear) to see how it
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performs. You can try the <i>gears</i> demo from Mesa or something
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like <i>Quake3</i>.</p>
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</div>
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<b><a name="5.2">5.2 -
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<u>Why is my SGI machine so slow?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>First of all, one of the most common mistakes on SGI hardware is to
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forget to specify --fog-fastest. On most SGI machines the EXP2 shading
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model isn't hardware supported resulting in frame rates below 1 frame
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per second (fps).</p>
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<p>FlightGear makes extensive use of the OpenGL z-buffer feature,which
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on most older SGI hardware is only supported in software. This means
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that the CPU has to do all the z-buffer calculations in addition to the
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other tasks FlightGear involves (flight dynamics, scenery tracking,
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pushing commands into the graphics queue, etc). The following features
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are software rendered on low-end SGI machines (like Indy and
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Indigo):</p>
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<ul>
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<li>stencil and accumulation buffer</li>
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<li>depth queuing and depth buffering</li>
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<li>fogging, lighting, clipping and transforms</li>
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<li>texturing</li>
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</ul>
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<p>This means that running FlightGear with the following options may not
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even get the desired result:</p>
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<p><code>./runfgfs --fog-disable --shading-flat --disable-skyblend \</code><br>
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<code>--disable-textures --disable-clouds --disable-sound \</code><br>
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<code>--disable-panel --enable-hud --disable-anti-alias-hud</code></p>
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<p>I could even imagine that adding --enable-wireframe doesn't work on
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these machines (I would be happy to be proven wrong though).</p>
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<p>On a machine like O2 the following options give an acceptable
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result:</p>
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<code>./runfgfs --fog-fastest --disable-sound</code>
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<p>Since I don't have access to other SGI hardware I can't tell which
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options would be appropriate for your situation.</p>
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</div>
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<b><a name="5.3">5.3 -
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<u>Stuck upside down after "crash"?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>In his infinite wisdom the FlightGear Grand Master decided that
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planes were to valuable to allow them to be destroyed by novice pilots
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who seemed to crash a lot. The fact that nobody has bothered to model
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crashes may have something to do with it too. :-)</p>
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<p>The result of this as you have noticed is that with a little
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practice an ingenuity you can trim the ship to fly inverted along the
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ground.</p>
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<p>The quick answer is to hit Ctrl+U (with the default key bindings)
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to warp the plane up 1000ft.</p>
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<p>For the stubborn people out there: The trick to learn is to roll
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back to normal (non inverted) do this by nursing the elevator to get
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to about 500 feet or so and use the ailerons to snap roll 180*.
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This is all good avionics except for the plane not destroying
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itself. Remember the controls work in reverse when you are inverted
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and keep that airspeed up!!!</p>
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</div>
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<b><a name="5.4">5.4 -
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<u>What happened to the panel, keyboard, etc?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>If you are using a development version of FlightGear, make
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sure you also have the latest base package. See
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<a href="http://rockfish.net/fg/">http://rockfish.net/fg/</a>
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for details on getting the latest CVS version.</p>
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</div>
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<b><a name="5.5">5.5 -
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<u>Why doesn't audio work properly under Irix?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>FlightGear (as of June 2001) uses the Portable Libraries (PLIB)
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for playing audio. The audio queue implementation of PLIB is far from
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optimal (in fact it's just wrong). This seems to work on other
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platforms quite well, but Irix expects things to be programmed
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properly.</p>
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<p>There has been discussion about using OpenAL
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(<a href="http://www.openal.org">http://www.openal.org</a>)
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for the next release of both PLIB and FlightGear. Tests show that
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the OpenAL audio implementation does the job right, meaning that
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these audio problems should be gone by then. In the mean time it is
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best to disable audio on Irix completely (by adding --disable-sound
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either on the command line or to your <code>$HOME/.fgfsrc</code>
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file).</p>
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</div>
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<b><a name="5.6">5.6 -
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<u>Why do I get an error loading libmk4.so.0?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>With the default installation, libmk4.so.0 is installed into
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<code>/usr/local/lib</code>. You need to ensure that that path is
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listed in <code>/etc/ld.so.conf</code>, then run <i>`ldconfig`</i>as
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root.</p>
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</div>
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<hr><h2><a name="6">6 -
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Hacking</a></h2>
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<b><a name="6.1">6.1 -
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<u>How do I design a flight dynamics model for a new plane?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>See
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<a href="http://jsbsim.sf.net">http://jsbsim.sf.net</a>.</p>
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</div>
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<b><a name="6.2">6.2 -
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<u>How do I import planes from Microsoft Flight Simulator?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>See
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<a href="http://home.t-online.de/home/Wolfram.Kuss/">http://home.t-online.de/home/Wolfram.Kuss/</a>.
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</p>
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</div>
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<b><a name="6.3">6.3 -
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<u>How do I import BGL scenery from Microsoft Flight Simulator?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>See
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<a href="http://matrixsoft.50megs.com/BGL/">http://matrixsoft.50megs.com/BGL/</a>.
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</p>
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</div>
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<b><a name="6.4">6.4 -
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<u>How do I design or modify a panel?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>See the README.xmlpanel file located in the
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<code>FlightGear/docs-mini/</code> directory of the source
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distribution. This document is mirrored at
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<a href="http://rockfish.net/fg/README.xmlpanel">http://rockfish.net/fg/README.xmlpanel</a>.
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</p>
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</div>
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<b><a name="6.5">6.5 -
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<u>How do I place objects, like buildings, into FlightGear?</u></a></b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>First, ensure that you have v0.7.7 or later, the scenery files
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where you plan to place the object, the actual model, and the
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longitude and latitude where you plan to place the object.</p>
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<p>Now get the altitude for your point. If you don't want to
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calculate this yourself, start FlightGear at your location and take
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note of the altitude. Here's an example command:</p>
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<p><code>fgfs --lat=45.50 --lon=-75.73 2>&1 | tee fgfs.log</code></p>
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<p>The altitude is probably in feet, so divide the starting altitude
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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 <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> |