19/4/2017 Ourverycomplex3Dviewer

Ourverycomplex3Dviewer

ThegoalofthisOpEdistofindconsensusbetweenthelatestOpEds,allofthenstatinginwhichdirection
should the aircraft designers point their projects and my own position. Those OpEds are Virtual Pilot Or
VirtualPlaneSpotterbyPhilippeVanagt,MilitaryAircraft by Les Dillon and Why Simple Is Sometimes
BetterAndCheaperbyDanielMoses.Asummarycanbefoundhere.IhavecommentsoneachOpEdatthe
end,gettherefollowingthelinksabove.

Mypositionsissimple:Aircraft/Paneldesignersshouldsimulatewhatevertheywantto

ThisapplytoallMSFSaddonsdesigners.Theirdevelopmentsarenotdrivenbyamarketanalysisorpollsbut
bytheirowndesiretohavethatbelovedpartofaviationrightthereintheircomputerscreen.Theirpassionisso,
thattheyjustcantkeeptheresultsoftheirhardexpensedtimeforthemselvessotheypostitfortherestofus,
sowecansharetheirenjoyment.Thehighamountofqualityandtimeputinisso,thatsomegocommercialand
evensotheireffortisrewardedbyabigamountoffollowersthatfindthoseaddonsworththemoney.Iamin
factoneofthosefollowers,whichdoesntmeanthatIdontsupportfreewaredevelopers:IowethenmorethanI
amabletogiveback.

Therewehave,3Dmodelsoftheairplaneswelike(andsomeoneslikeme,love),withagreat2Dpanel,now
withadynamicvirtualcockpit,andappropriatescenerytoflyoverwithit.Wecanwalkininsideit,goaround
itfromtheoutside,playwiththecontrolsandswitches,startit,taxiit,flyit,watchitfromoutsidewhileflying
(haveyougotActiveCamera?),doaerobaticswithit,misbehavewithit,landit,crashit,ditchit,HAVEFUN!
(YesPhilippe,Isaidbothtoyourquestion,andmy9yearsoldsontoo!).Wenotonlyenjoyflyingthem,but
alsowatchingourplanestakingoff,passingbyandlanding.Weenjoylookingatandtakingpicturesofaircraft.
Weenjoyhavingscalemodelsonourdesks.Thereisalotmorethanthesixdegreesoffreedomrealpilotshave
whileseatedintheirrealaircraft.Irecallthejokeabouttherealairlinepilotwho,askedifflyingwasabsolutely
cool,statednoifIdoittherightwayandalsorecallthescaleaircraftmodelerthatgotinvolvedinFSaircraft
designasanalternativetoplastickits(lessmess,lessroomspace,etc).FormeFSisalearningtoolasIwork
towardgettingmypilotlicenseandbuiltmyownrealaircraft,thatinvolveslearningaviationhistory.

However,somethingistrue:Therearesomebranchesofaviationthatseemtobeneglected.DidIsaybranches?
Yes,weallmustrecognizethataviationhavemanyareasandIassumethatthebalanceofFSaddonsisjusta
reflect of the amount of fans in each area, including people directly involved with real aviation. I am an
Aeronautical Engineer, and my main area of interest are the homebuilt and kitplane aircraft of any kind
(powered,powerless,highperformance,microlights/ultralights,gyroplanes)andfeelthatthereislittleinterest
forFSaddonsonthisarea,withsomegreatexceptions,likeBrianGladdenaircrafts,orawholeflightsim:X
Plane.

Here at Venezuela we dont have an aeronautical industry other than airlines and their own workshops, GA
commercial workshops, the Air Force workshops and a very few homebuilders. While I was in college, if I
talkedabouthomebuiltaircraft,mymateswilllookatmeasbeingcrazy:whowillrisktoclimbinaone/two
menmadeaircraft?Inanaircraftwhichcreepacrosstheskyat140knots?Whatstilliscoolforthenarethe
airliners and the combat aircraft. Did the Wright brothers walked in a Boeing sales office and signed off a
contractfora400seats/supersonicFlyer?Again,thatstheirposition,IdontshareitbutIrespectit.

ThereisnodiscussionthattheairlinersarethemostsimulatedaircraftonMSFSbigmilitarytransportscould
beputtogetherwiththisgroup.LesDillonreallysurprisedmebystatingthatFS2K2needsmoregoodheavies!
butIrespecthisposition.Generalaviation,utilityandsportsaircraftaresomehowwellrepresented,although
thereisabiggaptofillbyonesideandthefactthatmostoftheavailableGAaircraftarepayware,intheother
(Iagreewithyouhere,Daniel).CombataircraftaresharedwithCFS2.Businessaircraftareleadedonlybythe
Falcon50followedbythenowoldAbacusCorporatePilot.Glidersarefewbutallexcellent.Therearebeautiful
renditionsofhistorical,classicandvintageaircraft.YesLes,thelistgoon

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Thenwhatcanwedo?Theanswerisinallthereferencededitorials.Tobespecific,itisthereasonafterPhilippe
VanagtOpEd,anditismentionedbothonDillonandMosesones:Takeoverwhatyoufeelisamissingportion
and fill it with our own creations! And if you dont feel capable of it: contact and help capable people by
providingthemwithgoodinfotostartwithyoucantcontrolthembutmaybeispossibletoinfluenceontheir
work.Meetpilots,visitairports,workshops,manufacturesandassociationstakepictures,getdata,getmanuals,
drawings,specifications,writethedocumentation,etc,butPLEASEDOSOMETHINGONYOURSIDETO
CONTRIBUTE!,dontaskotherstochangetheirtasteforyours.AndTEACHYOURSELF!,thereareenough
resourcesonthenettogetstarted.GmaxisevenincludedwiththeeachcopyofFS2K2Pro!

FSisaworldwidehobby,andIbelievethatthereareplentyofuserswhocanevolveintodevelopersandfillthe
holes.

Allthatsaid,herearemycommentstoeachOpEd.Ibelievealltheseareconstructivecriticsifno,pleaselet
meknowandIwilltrytostraightthingsout.

VirtualPilotOrVirtualPlaneSpotterbyPhilippeVanagt
BravoPhilippe!Younotonlystatedyourpositionbutalsoproposeasolutionyouhavealreadytried.Yesfriend,
youhaveapoint.ItisanewwayoflookingatMSFS.PleasenotethatIwritenewbecauseitissomehow
old,asithasbeenafeatureoffighterssimulatorsforyearsinordertoimprovesituationalawareness,andits
entryinMSFSwasseverelydelayed.TherewereVCson(all?)FS98defaultaircraft,andCaptainSlugbrought
us lots of then with all his aircraft for FS98 and FS2K. If I am not wrong Bill Lyons even created one with
workinginstrumentsforFS98.WefinallyhaveDynamicVirtualCockpitsasanstandard,andfinallydoeshave
sensetomakeabigeffortfocusingonthem.

We did not took a wrong turn somewhere, it was just the way MS FS addons evolved. I have been
flightsimmingsinceFS2(Iwas15yearsold).ThefirsttimewewereabletomodifywhatcamewithFSwas
with FS4 (the fde and dimensions of a Cessna alike only), and later with MS Aircraft & Scenery Designer
experimentalaircraftoption(fdeanddimensions).Thispackagealsobroughtthefirstaddonaircrafts(visual
models) and the only other panel (747). Mallard Sound, Graphics and Aircraft enhancement brought more
aircrafts (visual models) and a EFIS panel. Mallard Aircraft and Adventure Factory was the greatest
breakthroughallowingustofinallycreatetotallynewvisuals.2DpanelswerefinallymodifiableinFS5,butit
wasaveryhardprocesslimitedtoafewenlightened.FS98finallyallowedtocreatenew2Dpanels.FS2K,will
allitsvisualenhancements,tookawaythevirtualcockpitsfromthedefaultaircraft!butintroducedtheinterior
views.FinallyDVCsarepossibleinFS2K2.ButtheywerealreadypresentinCFS!

TheDVCisaveryimportantpartofFS2K2,butitisnttheimportantthingofFS.Iwillbealmostimpossible
toagreewhicharetheimportingthingsonFS.Asaeronauticalengineer,IwillsaythattheFDEsarethemost
important,butnothavingvalidrealexperienceasapilotandhavingnotclueofhowanyofthedefaultaircraft
specificallyhandlesinreallife,Ijustcantverifymyownopinion.Whataboutcolorschemesandeyecandy?
justaskthescaleaircraftmodelerImentionedbefore.

Iamsureyouhavealreadygetlotsemailsfromlotoffolksonyourside.Theminipanelsisagreatsolution,
evenRealAirSimulationsseemtohaveitincludedintheirSF260.Iamlookingforwardtotheresults!Bythe
way,theSaab2000DVClooksawesome!

MilitaryAircraftbyLesDillon
There is a key sentence in your OpEd: I cant understand the use of a fighter in a peaceful sim such as
FS2002.Thekeywordhereisuse.WedontusefighteraircraftinFS2K2,weflythem!Incontrastwe
usethemasweaponsinCFSandothercombatsimulations,andwhatisworst:inreallife.

Iguessitisjusttheneedforthespeed,withoutcaringabouthowour100+passengersinthebackwillfeelor
whatwillsayifwetryaroll,afullnoseupfullafterburnerclimbora90degreesbankinaturn.Andthereisas
muchfuninflyinganF14orP51fromVORtoVORasdoingitwithanairliner.Idontseethedifference,aside

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fromthespeedandthefactthatyoudontrisktobeshotdownwhiledoingit,whileperformingaerobaticsor
justtakealookaround.OntheothersideitisnoteasytodevelopanaircraftmodelforFalcon4asisinMSFS.

Astheirnamesimplies,FSandCFSaresimulatedenvironments.InFSyoucanevenchangethetimeatwill.
Maybethescenerybelowdoesnotmatchtheaircraftappearancebutasinreallifeflightdynamicswillbethe
sametoday,in1942orinthetimeoftheancientEgyptians(haveyoureadRichardBachsGiftofWings?)no
matter in which time the aircraft was manufactured or even designed. Should vintage or classic aircraft be
groundedandputinmuseumsstaticsdisplaysbecausetheydontbelongtothistime?MSdiscardedtheWWI
portionofthesim,buthasnotdiscardedtheCamel,whichisinfactafighter

TheciviliantagisoneweputtoMSFSinordertodistinguishitfromthecombatflightsimulators,butatthe
end it is an open flight simulator, no matter the purpose of the aircraft simulated. Think about it: a fighter
aircraftwherethetriggerjustsetthebrakes!Doesntsoundthatwonderful?

Fighteraircraftsarejustthebelovedaviationportionofthosedesigners.

WhySimpleIsSometimesBetterAndCheaperbyDanielMoses
IhadahardtimereadingDanielsOpEd,mainlybecauseIamapoorengineer(justtakealookatVenezuela
economicalsituation),andnomatterthefactthatIhaveaverygoodjobIjustcantaffordatthismomenttoget
aprivatepilotlicense.Idontblameanyoneeither.

Thereareformealotoffreedownloadsoutthere,butasIsaidbefore,thevarietyissueissomethingweshould
solvebyourselves.

I agree that default planes frame rates are decent, and MS considered some smart tradeoffs in order to reach
thoseframerates.TounderstandwhatIsay,justmoveyourviewpointfromtheC172andBaronvirtualcockpits
totheoutsideoftheairplanesandlookattheaircraftasinspotview.Doyouseesomethingmissing?

IamsurethatPhilippehaveapartnerinDaniel.BythewayDaniel,ifyouhavenotreceivedhelpwiththepanel
movingaresizingissuedropmeanote.

I agree with Daniel on the panel design philosophy issue. 2D Panel designers should study carefully the
placementoftheelementsthatarenotshownordoesnotbelongtothemainpanel.Popupwindowssizeand
placementshouldbeuserfriendly.TheFlight1Cessna421cisagreatexample,althoughyetnotperfect.

Ithinkthebiggestrestrictionpaneldesignersandusersfacesisscreenspace.Adetailedreadablepanelnormally
takesaround60%ofthescreensize.Goingforlessnormallyimplyputtingcontrolpositionindicators(including
throttle,flaps,spoiler,gear,trimandotherleversandwheels)onpopupwindows.Landingviewpanelsarea
greatadditiontobigdetailedpanelsasinthe421cbutalsoputleversoutofview.

Ibelievethatbettersolutionsare:
1.Tobuildaddonsthrottles,plussomekeyboardemulatedswitches(anuserdecision)
2.Tostacktwomonitorsandusetheloweroneforthepanelandpopupwindows(anuserdecision).
3. Tousesolution2)withafullscreenpanelastheIFRpanelssuppliedwiththesmallsinglepropFS2K2
defaultaircraft(adesigner/userdecision)
4.Touseacombinationoftheabove.

Ithinkthattheabovewillallowbetter2Dpanels,andwillhelpwiththenonclickablevirtualcockpits.Agood
exampleofthisarrangementbyFranciscoGarciaGarridoisshownintheHowTosectionofthissite.


This has been a very long OpEd, but I feel was worth the time I spent on it. I hope you all feel the same.
Thanks.

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AlejandroIrausqun
Valencia,Venezuela
AirAusquin@cantv.net

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