928 lines
35 KiB
HTML
928 lines
35 KiB
HTML
<html lang="en">
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<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
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<title>FlightGear FAQ</title>
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<style type="text/css">
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.indent { margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 1em; }
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<body>
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<h1 align="center">FlightGear FAQ</h1>
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<hr noshade>
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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>
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<h2>
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<a name="toc">Table of Contents</a>
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</h2>
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<h4>1 -
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<a href="#1">The FAQ</a>
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</h4>
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<div class="indent">1.1 -
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<a href="#1.1">Where can I get the latest version of this FAQ?</a>
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</div>
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<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>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">1.3 -
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<a href="#1.3">How old is this document?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">1.4 -
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<a href="#1.4">What other important documentation should I read?</a>
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</div>
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<br>
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<h4>2 -
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<a href="#2">Distribution</a>
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</h4>
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<div class="indent">2.1 -
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<a href="#2.1">Where can I get FlightGear?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">2.2 -
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<a href="#2.2">What is the password for the FTP server?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">2.3 -
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<a href="#2.3">Why won't the FTP server let me in with the right login info?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">2.4 -
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<a href="#2.4">Where can I find the latest development source code?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">2.5 -
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<a href="#2.5">What is SimGear, and why do I need it?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">2.6 -
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<a href="#2.6">Where can I fly and where do I get the scenery?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">2.7 -
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<a href="#2.7">Where can I get different 3D models for my plane?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">2.8 -
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<a href="#2.8">How current is the data in FlightGear compared to the real world?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">2.9 -
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<a href="#2.9">Where is the moving map?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">2.10 -
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<a href="#2.10">Why don't you charge money for this?</a>
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</div>
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<br>
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<h4>3 -
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<a href="#3">Compiling</a>
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</h4>
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<div class="indent">3.1 -
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<a href="#3.1">Why won't FlightGear compile?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">3.2 -
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<a href="#3.2">I'm using RedHat 7, and ...?</a>
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</div>
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<br>
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<h4>4 -
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<a href="#4">Configuring</a>
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</h4>
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<div class="indent">4.1 -
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<a href="#4.1">How do I install new scenery?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">4.2 -
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<a href="#4.2">How do I setup my joystick(s)?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">4.3 -
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<a href="#4.3">What format should my personal .fgfsrc file be in?</a>
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</div>
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<br>
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<h4>5 -
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<a href="#5">Running</a>
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</h4>
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<div class="indent">5.1 -
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<a href="#5.1">Why do I get an error loading libopenal.so.0?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">5.2 -
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<a href="#5.2">Why do I get "ssgInit called without a valid OpenGL context"?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">5.3 -
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<a href="#5.3">What happened to the panel, keyboard, etc?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">5.4 -
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<a href="#5.4">Why doesn't audio work properly under Irix?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">5.5 -
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<a href="#5.5">Why is FlightGear so slow?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">5.6 -
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<a href="#5.6">Why is my SGI machine so slow?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">5.7 -
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<a href="#5.7">How do I see the frame rate?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">5.8 -
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<a href="#5.8">Stuck upside down after "crash"?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">5.9 -
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<a href="#5.9">Why does FlightGear die on startup saying "time zone reading failed"?</a>
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</div>
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<br>
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<h4>6 -
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<a href="#6">Hacking</a>
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</h4>
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<div class="indent">6.1 -
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<a href="#6.1">What language is FlightGear written in?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">6.2 -
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<a href="#6.2">How do I design a flight dynamics model for a new aircraft?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">6.3 -
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<a href="#6.3">How do I import planes from Microsoft Flight Simulator?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">6.4 -
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<a href="#6.4">How do I import BGL scenery from Microsoft Flight Simulator?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">6.5 -
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<a href="#6.5">How do I design or modify a panel?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">6.6 -
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<a href="#6.6">How do I place objects, like buildings, into FlightGear?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">6.7 -
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<a href="#6.7">Where can I learn 3D programming and how do I get involved?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">6.8 -
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<a href="#6.8">How do I add an airport?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">6.9 -
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<a href="#6.9">How do I generate my own scenery?</a>
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</div>
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<br>
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<h4>7 -
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<a href="#7">Flying</a>
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</h4>
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<div class="indent">7.1 -
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<a href="#7.1">Where can I learn about instrument flying and navigation?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">7.2 -
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<a href="#7.2">What is the difference between Aileron and Rudder?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">7.3 -
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<a href="#7.3">Is there support for multi-player flying?</a>
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</div>
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<div class="indent">7.4 -
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<a href="#7.4">Is there support for any military scenarios like dog fighting or bomb dropping?</a>
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</div>
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<br>
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<h4>8 -
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<a href="#8">FlightGear v0.7.6</a>
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</h4>
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<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>
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</div>
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<br>
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<hr>
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<h2>
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<a name="1">1 -
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The FAQ</a>
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</h2>
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<b>
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<a name="1.1">1.1 -
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<u>Where can I get the latest version of this FAQ?</u>
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</a>
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</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>
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<a name="1.2">1.2 -
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<u>Who do I contact if I have comments about this FAQ?</u>
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</a>
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</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>
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<a name="1.3">1.3 -
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<u>How old is this document?</u>
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</a>
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</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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<b>
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<a name="1.4">1.4 -
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<u>What other important documentation should I read?</u>
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</a>
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</b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>Most FlightGear documentation is linked to from
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<a href="http://flightgear.org/Docs/">http://flightgear.org/Docs/</a>.
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Definitely check out the <i>FlightGear Installation and Getting
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Started</i> document available from the aforementioned location.</p>
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<p>Also see the <code>FlightGear/docs-mini/</code> directory in the
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source distribution for various other helpful documents.</p>
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</div>
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<hr>
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<h2>
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<a name="2">2 -
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Distribution</a>
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</h2>
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<b>
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<a name="2.1">2.1 -
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<u>Where can I get FlightGear?</u>
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</a>
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</b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>The official download page is
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<a href="http://flightgear.org/Downloads/">http://flightgear.org/Downloads/</a>.
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Source code is our primary form of distribution, but precompiled
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binaries are available for Windows and SGI IRIX.</p>
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<p>Alternatively, FlightGear is packaged for Linux by SuSE, Debian
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(sid), and Mandrake (Cooker) and can be directly installed through
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those distributions.</p>
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</div>
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<b>
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<a name="2.2">2.2 -
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<u>What is the password for the FTP server?</u>
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</a>
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</b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>The FTP server uses standard anonymous login procedures. Login
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with the username "anonymous" and use your email address as the
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password. Most FTP clients and web browsers will do this
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automatically for you.</p>
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</div>
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<b>
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<a name="2.3">2.3 -
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<u>Why won't the FTP server let me in with the right login info?</u>
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</a>
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</b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>This generally means that the server is at it's capacity. You
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should receive a message saying such, but your FTP client may be
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hiding it from you. Your options are to keep trying until a slot
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opens up or try connecting to one of our <i>FTP</i> mirrors listed at
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<a href="http://flightgear.org/mirrors.html">http://flightgear.org/mirrors.html</a>.</p>
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</div>
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<b>
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<a name="2.4">2.4 -
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<u>Where can I find the latest development source code?</u>
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</a>
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</b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>The latest development code is available for everyone through our
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CVS 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>
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<a name="2.5">2.5 -
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<u>What is SimGear, and why do I need it?</u>
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</a>
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</b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>SimGear is a library of supporting code. SimGear is only needed
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if you plan on compiling FlightGear -- it is not needed to run
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precompiled binaries. For more information see
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<a href="http://www.simgear.org/">http://www.simgear.org/</a>.</p>
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</div>
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<b>
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<a name="2.6">2.6 -
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<u>Where can I fly and where do I get the scenery?</u>
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</a>
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</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>
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<a name="2.7">2.7 -
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<u>Where can I get different 3D models for my plane?</u>
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</a>
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</b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>While we are working toward building our own 3D models, 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.</p>
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</div>
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<b>
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<a name="2.8">2.8 -
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<u>How current is the data in FlightGear compared to the real world?</u>
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</a>
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</b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>We use the same navaid and airport dataset that <i>X-Plane</i> uses. The
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current dataset can be found in the <code>$FGROOT/Navaids/</code> and
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<code>$FGROOT/Airports/</code> directories. If you have updates or
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corrections to the dataset, see
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<a href="http://flightgear.org/Docs/AirNav/AptNavFAQ.FlightGear.html">http://flightgear.org/Docs/AirNav/AptNavFAQ.FlightGear.html</a>
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for instructions on contacting the database maintainer.</p>
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</div>
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<b>
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<a name="2.9">2.9 -
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<u>Where is the moving map?</u>
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</a>
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</b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>A popular moving map display is avaliable under a separate
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project called <i>Atlas</i>. See
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<a href="http://atlas.sf.net/">http://atlas.sf.net/</a>.</p>
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</div>
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<b>
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<a name="2.10">2.10 -
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<u>Why don't you charge money for this?</u>
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</a>
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</b>
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<div class="indent">
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<p>We could do that, since the initial download is about 25
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megabytes. Especially for people who have to pay per-minute charges
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for internet access, buying a CD is a convenient and possibly
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cheaper option. Although we offer that service (see the website), we
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encourage other groups to redistribute it for their users, especially
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within an operating system distribution which makes installation even
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faster and easier for new users.</p>
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</div>
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<hr>
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<h2>
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<a name="3">3 -
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Compiling</a>
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</h2>
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<b>
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<a name="3.1">3.1 -
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<u>Why won't FlightGear compile?</u>
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</a>
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</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, plib, zlib. If any of
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the packages are 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.html">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>
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|
<a name="3.2">3.2 -
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|
<u>I'm using RedHat 7, and ...?</u>
|
|
</a>
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|
</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>
|
|
<b>
|
|
<a name="4.1">4.1 -
|
|
<u>How do I install new scenery?</u>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</b>
|
|
<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/Terrain</code> directory in your
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<code>$FG_ROOT</code>.</p>
|
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</div>
|
|
|
|
<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">
|
|
<p>FlightGear should come with a helpful program called <i>`fgjs`</i>
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that can help configure your joystick. Run <i>`fgjs`</i> and then
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copy the dot file it created into your home directory or add its
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contents to your existing rc file.</p>
|
|
<p>Also, 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/fg/README.Joystick">http://rockfish.net/fg/README.Joystick</a>.
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<b>
|
|
<a name="4.3">4.3 -
|
|
<u>What format should my personal .fgfsrc file be in?</u>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</b>
|
|
<div class="indent">
|
|
<p>Your <code>.fgfsrc</code> file should simply be a list of
|
|
command-line options with one option per line. The file is <b>not</b>
|
|
an XML file.</p>
|
|
<p>If you would rather use an XML configuration file, you can add
|
|
something like the following in your <code>.fgfsrc</code>
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<code>--config=/path/to/my/config.xml</code>
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>Almost every option corresponds to a property, so you can choose
|
|
to use whichever method best suits your needs.</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<hr>
|
|
<h2>
|
|
<a name="5">5 -
|
|
Running</a>
|
|
</h2>
|
|
<b>
|
|
<a name="5.1">5.1 -
|
|
<u>Why do I get an error loading libopenal.so.0?</u>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</b>
|
|
<div class="indent">
|
|
<p>With the default installation, libopenal.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>
|
|
|
|
<b>
|
|
<a name="5.2">5.2 -
|
|
<u>Why do I get "ssgInit called without a valid OpenGL context"?</u>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</b>
|
|
<div class="indent">
|
|
<p>In short, your GL libraries are broken. So far only Red Hat 7.x
|
|
users have experienced this (see
|
|
<a href="http://www.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=18867">http://www.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=18867</a>).
|
|
The only solutions are possibly complicated ones: you can either
|
|
change distributions (most of us prefer Debian) or upgrade/downgrade
|
|
your Mesa libs.</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<i>
|
|
<u>Why do some other GL applications work though?</u>
|
|
</i> Well,
|
|
Steve Baker (Mr. PLIB) has explained this on the plib-users list
|
|
(<a href="http://www.geocrawler.com/lists/3/SourceForge/1867/0/6470648/">http://www.geocrawler.com/lists/3/SourceForge/1867/0/6470648/</a>).
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<b>
|
|
<a name="5.3">5.3 -
|
|
<u>What happened to the panel, keyboard, etc?</u>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</b>
|
|
<div class="indent">
|
|
<p>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.</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<b>
|
|
<a name="5.4">5.4 -
|
|
<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="5.5">5.5 -
|
|
<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="5.6">5.6 -
|
|
<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="5.7">5.7 -
|
|
<u>How do I see the frame rate?</u>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</b>
|
|
<div class="indent">
|
|
<p>There are two ways. One way is to hide the panel without the HUD
|
|
showing. To hide the panel, use <i>Shift+P</i>; To make the HUD
|
|
disappear, use <i>H</i>. The second way is to use the alternative
|
|
HUD by <i>Shift+I</i> (Use <i>I</i> to switch back).</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<b>
|
|
<a name="5.8">5.8 -
|
|
<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="5.9">5.9 -
|
|
<u>Why does FlightGear die on startup saying "time zone reading failed"?</u>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</b>
|
|
<div class="indent">
|
|
<p>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
|
|
<a href="http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~eazdluf/d2u.zip">http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~eazdluf/d2u.zip</a>.
|
|
Run as `<i>d2u *.tab</i>` from within the timezone directory to fix
|
|
your timezone files.</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<hr>
|
|
<h2>
|
|
<a name="6">6 -
|
|
Hacking</a>
|
|
</h2>
|
|
<b>
|
|
<a name="6.1">6.1 -
|
|
<u>What language is FlightGear written in?</u>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</b>
|
|
<div class="indent">
|
|
<p>Mostly C++ with some supporting C code that's primary contained
|
|
within SimGear.</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<b>
|
|
<a name="6.2">6.2 -
|
|
<u>How do I design a flight dynamics model for a new aircraft?</u>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</b>
|
|
<div class="indent">
|
|
<p>To define an aircraft for FlightGear's primary FDM (JSBSIM),
|
|
see <a href="http://jsbsim.sf.net/">http://jsbsim.sf.net/</a>.</p>
|
|
<p>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
|
|
<code>Aircraft-yasim/README.yasim</code>.</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<b>
|
|
<a name="6.3">6.3 -
|
|
<u>How do I import planes from Microsoft Flight Simulator?</u>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</b>
|
|
<div class="indent">
|
|
<p>You can import the 3D model and textures, but the flight dynamics
|
|
(the .AIR file) must be completely redone for FlightGear. </p>
|
|
<p>If you wish to import a model made with gmax, you will need to
|
|
convert it to .MDL format using <i>Microsoft's MakeMDL SDK</i> which
|
|
is available at
|
|
<a href="http://zone.msn.com/flightsim/FS02DevDeskSDK08.asp">http://zone.msn.com/flightsim/FS02DevDeskSDK08.asp</a>.
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<b>
|
|
<a name="6.4">6.4 -
|
|
<u>How do I import BGL scenery from Microsoft Flight Simulator?</u>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</b>
|
|
<div class="indent">
|
|
<p>See
|
|
<a href="http://chiangt.virtualave.net/BGL/bgl_index.html">http://chiangt.virtualave.net/BGL/bgl_index.html</a>.
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<b>
|
|
<a name="6.5">6.5 -
|
|
<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="6.6">6.6 -
|
|
<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>&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 ".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:</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<code>/usr/local/Scenery/w080n40/w076n45/1712601.stg</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 .stg 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>
|
|
<p>An alternative approach using PPE is described at
|
|
<a href="http://mail.flightgear.org/pipermail/flightgear-devel/2001-December/002239.html">http://mail.flightgear.org/pipermail/flightgear-devel/2001-December/002239.html</a>
|
|
by Norman Vine.</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<b>
|
|
<a name="6.7">6.7 -
|
|
<u>Where can I learn 3D programming and how do I get involved?</u>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</b>
|
|
<div class="indent">
|
|
<p>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
|
|
(<a href="http://rockfish.net/fg/README.xmlpanel">http://rockfish.net/fg/README.xmlpanel</a>).
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>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++.</p>
|
|
<p>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.</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<b>
|
|
<a name="6.8">6.8 -
|
|
<u>How do I add an airport?</u>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</b>
|
|
<div class="indent">
|
|
<p>You can add your airport to the
|
|
<code>$FGROOT/Airports/default.apt.gz</code> 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
|
|
<a href="http://flightgear.org/Docs/AirNav/AptNavFAQ.FlightGear.html">http://flightgear.org/Docs/AirNav/AptNavFAQ.FlightGear.html</a>.</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<b>
|
|
<a name="6.9">6.9 -
|
|
<u>How do I generate my own scenery?</u>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</b>
|
|
<div class="indent">
|
|
<p>Yes, though it can be a difficult task. FlightGear's scenery
|
|
generation is handled by a sister project, TerraGear. For more
|
|
details, see
|
|
<a href="http://terragear.org/">http://terragear.org/</a>.</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. Also see
|
|
<a href="http://www.monmouth.com/~jsd/how/">http://www.monmouth.com/~jsd/how/</a>.
|
|
</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.monmouth.com/~jsd/how/">http://www.monmouth.com/~jsd/how/</a>.
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<b>
|
|
<a name="7.3">7.3 -
|
|
<u>Is there support for multi-player flying?</u>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</b>
|
|
<div class="indent">
|
|
<p>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.</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<b>
|
|
<a name="7.4">7.4 -
|
|
<u>Is there support for any military scenarios like dog fighting or bomb dropping?</u>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</b>
|
|
<div class="indent">
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<p>No, not at this time. Most of our developers are primarily
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interested and focused on civilian aviation. We aren't explicitly
|
|
excluding these features -- we just haven't had anyone who seriously
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|
wanted to develop these areas.</p>
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</div>
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|
|
|
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<hr>
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|
<h2>
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<a name="8">8 -
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|
FlightGear v0.7.6</a>
|
|
</h2>
|
|
<b>
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|
<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>
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|
</div>
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|
|
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|
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<hr noshade>
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|
<a name="about">
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|
<h2>About This Document</h2>
|
|
</a>
|
|
<b>FlightGear FAQ</b>
|
|
<br>$Revision$<br>$Date$<br>
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<p>
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<small>
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This document generated from XML using
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<a href="http://gingerall.com/charlie/ga/xml/p_sab.xml">Sablotron</a>.
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</small>
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</p>
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</body>
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</html>
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