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Newsgroups: rec.aviation.simulators,comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.flight-sim,rec.aviation.answers,rec.answers,news.answers Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!spool.mu.edu!sgiblab!peck.com!geoff From: mechalas@gn.ecn.purdue.edu (John Mechalas) Subject: rec.aviation.simulators Frequently Asked Questions Message-ID: <1993Dec19.083009.23622@peck.com> Followup-To: poster Summary: This posting contains frequently asked questions for the rec.aviation.simulators newsgroup, and should be read by anyone who wishes to post to the group. Sender: geoff@peck.com (Geoff Peck) Supersedes: <1993Dec5.083009.17242@peck.com> Reply-To: mechalas@gn.ecn.purdue.edu Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network Date: Sun, 19 Dec 1993 08:30:09 GMT Approved: geoff@peck.com, news-answers-request@mit.edu Expires: Sun, 9 Jan 1994 08:00:00 GMT Lines: 1293 Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu rec.aviation.simulators:3710 comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.flight-sim:8610 rec.aviation.answers:201 rec.answers:3398 news.answers:15971 Archive-name: aviation/flight-simulators Last changed: 12/08/93 rec.aviation.simulators FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS This FAQ is maintained by mechalas@gn.ecn.purdue.edu (John Mechalas) and is posted twice a month. Any comments, suggestions, additions or corrections are welcome, so feel free to mail me with your ideas. Those of you on Compuserve may also contact me at 71673,3041. Similar to the FAQ on rec.aviation, there are |'s (pipes) at the beginning of each line that contains new information. This way those of you with 'grep'-like utilities can immediately search this file for the new stuff. Our "unofficial motto" (smiley-captioned for the humor-impaired): "Any product (flight/computer oriented) that considers Angle of Attack in an at least semi-realistic way is a sim, any other a game." :) -- Gary Cooper (not the dead one) Thanks to: Glenn Wallace, Hayden Nanton, G. David Frye, Robert Dorsett, Mark Strawcutter, Brooke Anderson, Jeff Beadles, Joel Murray, Linda McGarry, Dan Sharpes, Bruce Jackson, Mary Shafer, Rob Jones, Michael Jones, Stefan Frick, Gary Cooper, Jim Knutson, Brian, Paulo Ney de Souza, Tim Tessin, Scott Chan, and Alan Epstein for their major contributions. Also thanks to the countless others who are providing me with constant feedback and other helpful hints. Abbreviations you may see used on this newsgroup: AAF or A&AF Mallard's "Aircraft and Adventure Factory" for MS FS4 ACM "Air Combat Maneuvers", a flight simulator for Unix AOTP "Aces Over the Pacific" ASD or A&SD Microsoft's "Aircraft and Scenery Designer" for MS FS4 ATP subLOGIC's "Flight Assignment: Airline Transport Pilot" BAO The Bruce Artwick Organization DOF Degrees Of Freedom (used in describing flight models) F15III "F-15 Strike Eagle III" F3 Spectrum Holobyte's "Falcon 3.0" FAQ Frequently Asked Questions FS "Flight Simulator", usually referring to Microsoft's FTP TCP/IP "File Transfer Program" MS Microsoft MS FS Microsoft "Flight Simulator", usually referring to IBM version PC Personal Computer, not necessarily referring to IBM PC's SB Sound Blaster sound card for IBM computers SEE Mallard's "Scenery Enhancement Editor" for MS FS4 w/ A&SD SGA or S&GA Mallard's "Sound and Graphics Upgrade" for MS FS4 VLB VESA Local Bus (usually referring to the video card) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- INDEX Section A: General information about rec.aviation.simulators A1. What is rec.aviation.simulators? A2. Is it okay to discuss games? A3. Can I post binary files here? | A4. What posts *don't* belong here? Section B: Flight Simulation Theory | B1. Where can I learn about flight simulation? B2. What do you really mean by "realism" in a flight simulator? B3. How does the flight model influence fidelity? B4. What is a 6 DOF flight model? B5. What is DATCOM? B6. How "realistic" are the various PC based simulators? Section C: Flight Simulator Products C1. Which flight simulator is best for me? C2. Can I maintain my FAA currency with a PC-based simulator? C3. Will a FPU/Math Co-processor improve my simulator performance? C4. Are there any space simulators? | C5. What simulators are available for Unix or Sun systems? C6. Are there any Air Traffic Control simulators? C7. Where can I get information on the various flight simulators? C8. Where can I buy flight-related software? C9. Are there any flight-simulator-related mailing lists? Section D: Microsoft Flight Simulator D1. What kind of performance should I expect from FS5? | D2. Is there a bug list for FS5? How about any patches? | D3. What add-ons are available for FS5? D4. What products are available for FS 4 (IBM)? D5. What products are available for FS 4 (Mac)? D6. What is the difference between AAF and A&SD? | D7. Has anyone decoded the scenery file format? Or the other file | formats used by FS 4 and 5? | D8. Is there a way to get real ATC for FS4? D9. Why doesn't my copy of USA East work properly with FS4? Section E: Specific Questions on Other Products E1. Why doesn't my Sound Blaster card work with ATP? E2. The KU antenna won't deploy in shuttle, and I can't de-orbit. Is there a fix? Section F: FTP Sites F1. Are there any FTP-sites that have flight-sim related material? | F2. Where can I get ACM, FltSim, and Aviator? F3. How do I upload files to the various flight-sim FTP sites? F4. Where else can I get flight-sim related materials? Section G: Misc. G1. What happened between subLOGIC, Microsoft, and BAO? G2. How do I submit comments, suggestions, or corrections to the FAQ? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Section A: General information about rec.aviation.simulators A1. What is rec.aviation.simulators? rec.aviation.simulators is one of many sister groups that are under the "parent" group rec.aviation. This USENET newsgroup is specifically for the discussion of air and spacecraft simulators, whether they be PC-based, Workstation-based, or "real". Mostly, you will see talk about PC sims, since most of us can't afford (and consequently don't have) the real things. A2. Is it okay to discuss games like "Falcon" or "Hellcats"? Since the software market doesn't really differentiate between games and flight simulators, we don't either. However, you are more likely to find game-related simulators on the newsgroups comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.flight-sim and comp.sys.amiga.games and others, whereas discussion of "pure" simulators on here. If you need help with a game, you are probably going to have better luck (and more responses) by posting the the games newsgroups. However, if your questions are about flight or combat technique, flight modeling, realism, or other related issues, then this is the best place to post to. A3. Can I post binary files here? In the past, some uuencoded binary files have been posted to this forum. In general, most of these files have been airplanes or scenery for MS FS4 and such. Although there's nothing really wrong with posting such files to the newsgroup, use a little common sense before doing so, and ask yourself the following questions: * How big is the file? Whereas posting a 2k TRACON/ATC sector is probably not a big deal, a 50k scenery file is probably pushing things. Most administrators probably don't want to store several large binary files in their news spool directories. * Would it be better to put it up for FTP? In the case of larger files, you will be best off putting the file at an FTP site such as ftp.iup.edu or wuarchive.wustl.edu, and then just announce its existence on the newsgroup, telling people where they can find it and what it is. See Section F for a listing of FTP sites that carry Flight-Sim related material. | A4. What posts *don't* belong here? | | In general, if it's not related to flight simulation products or | thoery, you're better off taking it somewhere else. This includes, | but is not limited to, political discussions, flames, chain letters, | government propoganda, and anything by Robert McElwaine or Melvin | Gladstone. Also note that requests for cheats, cracks, or other ways | of bypassing copy protection, are not welcome. *Several* major product | developers read this forum, and you're more likely to offend the | people that are trying to make their living than you are to get any | help in illegal activities. Section B: Flight Simulator Theory ----------------------------------- B1. Where can I learn about flight simulation? For the actual flight dynamics, try the references listed below. You would be best off reading books on computer graphics for handling the graphic displays: Foley et. al., _Fundamentals of Interactive Computer Graphics_, Addison-Wesley. [Basics only. -R D Dorsett] _Microcomputer Displays, Graphics, and Animation_, Bruce A. Artwick, Prentiss-Hall, 1985, ISBN 0-13-039322-3. Previously published as _Applied Concepts in Computer Graphics_. _A versatile computer-generated dynamic flight display_, Bruce A. Artwick, Aviation Research Laboratory, Institute of Aviation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, prepared for Engineering Psychology Programs, Office of Naval Research, May 1975. _Flights of Fantasy_, by Chris Lampton, implements completely a PC based flight simluator. While it isn't Strike Commander or Falcon 3.0, it _is_ much better than any other book on the market for learning implementation details of 3d graphical games. [ -Brian] The following references are mostly academic texts, and provide more of introductions to dynamics and flight dynamics theory. Additional references are listed in B4 and B5. _Aircraft Control and Simulation_, by Brian L. Stevens and Frank L. Lewis, John Wiley & Sons, 1992, ISBN 0-471-61397-5. This is what a lot of people seem to think Rolfe's _Flight Simulation_ is. Develops a 6 dof F-16 flight model. [ -RDD] "Modeling Flight," in _IEEE Potentials_., April 1990. Performance-based model of bizjet-category airplane; Turbo Pascal source available on various ftp sites as "SIMULATE.PAS" _Simulation Of Aircraft_, Connelly, Mark E. Report 7591-R-1. Feb 15, 1958, Servomechanisms Laboratory, MIT. It is a bit dated but its what CAE Electronics used to throw at new graduates in the Aero Group to educate them. [ -Iab Maclure] J. D. Anderson, Jr., _Introduction to Flight_ (McGraw-Hill, 1989). [A great intro to flight dynamics. Read this first before tackling the more difficult texts that follow. -B Anderson] C. D. Perkins and R. E. Hage, _Airplane Performance, Stability, and Control_ (Wiley, 1949). [One of the best books I've found on the gritty details of flight dynamics, including all of the complicated effects ignored by all PC flight sims. Written by and for aircraft designers. -BA] B. Etkin, _Dynamics of Atmospheric Flight_ (Wiley, 1972). [A more modern treatment. Relies more on linearization, which I don't like, but the treatment is more well organized. -BA] R. Von Mises, _Theory of Flight_ (Dover, 1959). [Another detailed book like the one by Perkins and Hage. This one is even a little more involved than Perkins and Hage's, and it's not suitable unless you are comfortable with physics and math at the freshman or sophomore level. However, since it's a Dover book, the list price is only $13-- a steal considering that Perkins and Hage's and Etkin's books cost about $90 each. -BA] J. M. Rolfe and K. J. Staples, eds., _Flight Simulation_ (Cambridge University Press, 1986), pp. 36-60. [This is a book about the development of flight sims. Pages 36-60 (Chapter 3) contains information on the quaternion formalism for representing an aircraft's attitude. This is the way to do it in a flight sim. It is much simpler and faster than the Euler-angle formalism (i.e., it is much more suitable than using the gimbal equations). -BA] Another excellent reference is _Spacecraft Dynamics_ by Kane, Likins, and Levinson (McGraw-Hill, 1983). [Also details the quaternian formulation, as well as gives transformation equations between the various sets of parameters. Also lists transformation matrices for several sets of euler angles. -JM] If you want to see a flight model in action, you will definitely want to check out the flight model used in ACM (a Unix-based flight simulator for X11 environments. A separate FAQ for ACM is maintained and posted periodically). | Tim Tessin writes: | | ACM uses a 6 DOF model with roll, pitch and yaw modeled using | NACA stability derivatives. Also ACM actually models the spring | and motion damping effects of the landing gear struts, as well as | the contribution of ground friction by the wheels. B2. What do you really mean by "realism" in a flight simulator? Robert Dorsett Writes: There are two major issues to consider: realism and fidelity. Realism is how "real" a system feels; fidelity relates to the actual models used. Realism is a highly subjective issue: a simulator might model each blade of grass on the approach end of a runway, but if the user's flying overhead at 37,000', that won't affect his perception of *realism* at that point. Similarly, a graphics system might provide a high- resolution database, but if it only uses an orthographic projection, it won't win over many pilots! Simulation is, therefore, the *art* of providing the expected cues and response characteristics for a specified mission. Most military simulators are so specialized that they're optimized for certain missions or flight regimes; airline simulators tend to be much more flexible (all regime). For each regime, appropriate feedback must be maintained. Real-world systems models are usually (but not always) the cornerstone of high-fidelity simulation; final "realism", even in airline simulators, is obtained only after an exhaustive survey and fine-tuning process. The acceptance process for even a production-run simulator can take up to a year. A third issue is perception, and the intent of the game as an entertainment product. For example, pilots realize that airplanes are essentially very easy to fly and land: non-pilots may expect them to be horrifyingly complex to fly, given a lot of the mystique surrounding aviation, a lot of which has been enthusiastically promoted by pilots themselves. :-) All retail flight simulators are just games, and, to some degree, help shape and feed off the perceptions of their users. So if the users expect an F-16 to be almost impossible to fly, an F-16 simulator that IS almost impossible to fly wouldn't disappoint anyone except real pilots. Conversely, a simulator that is actually easy to fly might disappoint game-players as too easy, or "arcade-ish," because it IS too realistic. In discussing "realism," one should really pay attention to three factors: 1. The flight dynamics and flight instrumentation. (flight simulator) 2. The visual system. 3. The systems support. (systems simulator) The basis for such discussions in this forum should be from the pilot, not entertainment, perspective. B3. How does the flight model influence fidelity? True fidelity in a flight simulator comes from the flight equations used in the flight model. In general, the more complex the flight model, the better performance you are going to get, though there are instances where even a *good* flight model can lead to poor flight simulation (more on that in a minute). In general, most of the low-end, low-cost simulators on the market In general, most of the low-end, low-cost simulators on the market use what is known as a "3 Degree of Freedom", or 3 DOF, flight model. This means that the equations of motion only determine x, y, and z displacements of the aircraft in space, and then use this information to determine the flight attitude. The actual characteristics are based on the so-called "performance" equations, which themselves are usually only defined for steady-state situations. Various other characteristics, such as roll rate, must be fudged by the author. Some simulations don't even pay any attention to angle of attack, using stick input or airplane pitch as the final determining characteristic. Most high-end simulators use a 6 DOF model, described below, and a lot of PC-based simulators tend to ignore these kinds of models completely, and rely on a "point-space" performance model instead. The equations of motion do not make the flight model, however; they merely set the limit on what is and is not possible. In order to support these equations, you must also have good models for finding the lift-curve slope, drag coefficients, stability derivatives, and other parameters. In addition, you have to decide how you want to calculate these parameters. Should you calculate your lift on each wing independently, or just the lift on the whole wing surface area? The latter method would be faster and easier, but the former would allow you to model such flight dynamics as the "Dutch roll" modes, stall-spin conditions, and other common effects. How about downwash effects, which alter the effective angle of attack of the tail? There are several issues that need to be considered. Finally, after you have your flight model together, you need to find the parameters that fit your aircraft, so that your *plane* flies just as realistically as your flight model does. For example, you could have a high-end, 6 DOF flight model, but if your Cessna 172 has the wrong wing area modeled, it won't *fly* like one. B4. What is a 6 DOF model? Robert Dorsett writes: A 6 degree of freedom flight model provides for a fairly accurate modelling of the motion and flying characteristics of an airplane. It is generally used when the airplane is to be modelled as a "rigid body." It considers both rotational (yaw, pitch, and roll) and translational motion, both centered around the center of gravity. Since there are three axes to consider in each case, this is referred to as a six- degree-of-freedom model. This model actually considers twelve variables, since both the instantaneous rate of change *and* position have to be considered. These are referred to as the state variables, which are applied to varying matrices of coefficients to get the desired fidelity. Several people recommended "Aircraft Control and Simulation," by Frank L. Lewis and Brian L. Stevens (Wiley Interscience, 1992, ISBN 0-471-61397-5). It is a comprehensive work, using an F-16 model as a case-study example. It includes FORTRAN code. A couple of people recommended NASA CR-1756, "The simulation of a large jet transport aircraft volume I: mathematical model," by C. Rodney Hanke, March 1971. This deals with the simulation of a Boeing 747. I've found the second half, containing the aerodynamic data, is all but impossible to find, however. One of the more accessible references is J. M. Rolfe's _Flight Simulation_, a survey of the art. It has a bottom-line description of a 6 DOF flight model, adapted from the Hanke paper. It is more useful for its insights into other aspects of system and flight simulation. One respondent suggested "A review of flight simulation techniques," by Max Baarspul, in _Progress in Aerospace Science_, Vol. 27, 1990. This is a comprehensive monograph (120 pages), detailing the art of simulation. Portions are reminiscent of Rolfe, but he develops a flight model for a DHC-2 "Beaver" in much more detail. Dan Sharpes dug up the following two: _Aircraft Dynamics and Automatic Control_, by McRuer, Ashkenas, and Graham, (Princeton University Press, 1973, ISBN 0691080836), which apparently has a detailed DC-8 model at the end. _Flight Stability and Automatic Control_, by Robert C. Nelson (McGraw Hill, 1989, ISBN 0070462186). Dan transcribed the following derivatives for a 747-100 or -200, on page 260: Longitudinal Mach Alt CL CD CLa CDa Cma CLadot CLq .25 SL 1.11 0.102 5.70 0.66 -1.26 6.7 5.4 .90 40k 0.5 0.042 5.5 0.47 -1.6 0.006 6.58 Mach CMq CLM CDM CmM CL-De CM-De .25 -20.8 -0.81 0.0 0.27 0.338 -1.34 .90 -25.0 0.2 0.25 -0.10 0.3 -1.2 Lateral Mach Alt CyB ClB CnB Clp Cnp Clr Cnr .25 SL -0.96 -0.221 0.150 -0.45 -0.121 0.101 -0.30 .90 40k -0.85 -0.10 0.20 -0.30 0.20 0.20 -0.325 Mach Cl-Da Cn-Da Cy-Dr Cl-Dr Cn-Dr .25 0.0461 0.0064 0.175 0.007 -0.109 .90 0.014 0.003 0.075 0.005 -0.09 W = 636,600 lb CG @ 25%MAC S = 5500 ft sq b = 195.68 ft sq c-bar = 27.31 ft Ix 18.2 E6 slug-ft sq Iy 33.1 E6 slug-ft sq Iz 49.7 E6 slug-ft sq Ixz 0.97 E6 slug-ft sq All derivatives are per radian. For more aircraft models, check out the following references: Robert K. Heffley and Wayne F. Jewell, _Aircraft Handling Qualities Data_, NASA CR 2144, December 1972, 343 pp. Aircraft described are NT-33A, F-104A, F-4C, X-15, HL-10, Lockheed jetstar, Convair 880M, B-747, C-5A, and XB-70A. G. L. Teper, "Aircraft Stability and Control Data, NASA CR-96008, 1969. Aircraft covered are A-7A, A-4D, F-106B, T-38, F-5A, F-104, F-105B, B-58, Navion, and DC-8. B5. What is DATCOM? A description of DATCOM, from Dan Sharpes: The Datcom is the short-hand title for the "USAF Stability and Control DATCOM." It contains methodologies for determining the S & C derivatives for just about any type of configuration. It does NOT contain the S & C derivatives of aircraft (popular misconception!). Here's what the Guide to Datcom says: "Fundamentally, the purpose of the Datcom (Data Compendium) {OK, I was wrong. Flame me!} is to provide a systematic summary of methods for estimating basic stability antd control derivatives. ... For any given flight condition and configuration the complete set of derivatives can be determined without resort to outside information. The book is intended to be used for preliminary design purposes before the acquisition of test data. ... there are many cases where the Datcom can be used to advantage in conjunction with test data. For instance, if the lift-curve slope of a wing-body combination is desired, the Datcom recommends that the lift-curve slopes of the isolated wing and body, respectively, be estimated by methods presented and that appropriate wing-body interference factors (also presented) be applied. If wing-alone test data are available, it is obvious that these test data should be substituted in place of the estimated wing-alone characteristics ..." The Datcom has nine sections: 1) Guide to Datcom and Methods Summary 2) General Information (notation, parameters of wing, body, section, and planform) 3) Effects of External Stores 4) Characteristics at Angle of Attack (static derivatives in alpha) 5) Characteristics in Sideslip (static derivatives in beta) 6) Characteristics of High-Lift and Control Devices (section and wing forces and moments, including hinge moments) 7) Dynamic Derivatives (in p, q, r, alpha-dot, and beta-dot) 8) Mass and Inertia 9) Characteristics of VTOL-STOL Aircraft (thrust characteristics) The methods are a mixture of theoretical and empirical equations. Each section starts with a description of the aerodynamics that contribute to the derivative as appropriate to the configuration. The methods are then discussed with sample problems following. Next are the references, the tables showing accuracy of the methods, and finally, the charts. You'll probably recognize these - several authors use them liberally in their texts. Where to get DATCOM: It's $175. It's distributed in four binders, is 3,200 pages, and can be ordered from: Global Engineering 7730 Carondelet Ave. #407 Clayton, Missouri 63105 800-854-7179 B6. How realistic are the various PC-based simulators? Robert Dorsett writes: This is difficult to establish, since, again, user enjoyment of a product isn't directly proportional to its realism. Also, different users might prioritize different aspects of the simulator, which can contribute to perceptions of realism. An instrument-rated pilot might value the fidelity of the nav database; a VFR pilot might want a detailed visual database and good "seat of the pants" controllability. A combat pilot will want a challenging adversary, whereas a would-be test-pilot would enjoy just flying the airplane. So far, there aren't any "combat airplane" equivalents of MS FS, which will just let one fly around a realistic civilian database in a really high-performance airplane, so it's not really possible to talk about "instrument" military simulators, even though a couple provide "ILS" approaches. Since "package" evaluations ARE a function of user expectations, take the following with a grain of salt. 1. _Civilian_ Considering flight realism, database design and fidelity, and instrumentation. Realism: Elite (Mac/PC), without a doubt. Developed with a 6 DOF flight model, very accurate. Followed by ATP (PC) and Microsoft Flight Simulator 4.0 (Mac/PC). Database: Elite, for its nav database; ATP and MS FS 4.0 for their visual databases. Navaids modelled better in ATP. Instrumentation: Elite (Mac/PC), without a doubt; ATP and MS FS 4.0 are about on par. 2. _Combat_ Considering flight realism, database design, responsiveness, and challenge. Flight: "Hellcats over the Pacific"'s (Mac) F6F feels the most like any airplane, but its performance near the edges of the envelope feels too stable. Next-up would be "Falcon 3" (PC), idiosyncrasies and all; followed by "P-51 Mustang" (Mac), and "Aces over the Pacific" (PC). Near the bottom of the list is "Falcon MC" (Mac), with its horrible flight model. Database: "Hellcats," again, the most detailed, modelling everything from moving aircraft carriers to the ammo cans on anti-aircraft batteries. "Falcon" (3 and MC) are mediocre seconds. Challenge: "Falcon 3's" probably the best, due to the necessity of learning and using the various types of weapons systems. "Hellcats" arguably provides the best air combat maneuvering guns environment, although enemy aircraft don't die easily enough when hit point- blank. "P-51" has a difficult ACM environment, but is only 1:1. However, when one wins, one has a real feeling of accomplishment. Section C: PC-Based Products ----------------------------- C1. Which flight simulator is best for me? The answer to this question, like all others of this type, is "it depends on what you want to use it for". There are a number of flight simulators out on the market, and they are (mostly) broken down into the following categories: * Cheap games -- These would be programs that aren't really flight simulators at all, but rather programs that have an airplane or some such thing in them. They are not intended to be flight simulators, any more than DOS's EDLIN and Mac's TeachText are intended to be word processors. * Flight Simulation Combat -- This category would include games like Falcon, Aces Over the Pacific, Hellcats, and others. Some of these have better flight models than others, some have better combat modeling. It's really difficult to point out which of them is the best, since it all depends on what kind of planes you want to fly, and how complicated a program you want. * Low-end Simulators -- This category includes FS 4 and ATP, and consists of programs that are really intended to be basic flight simulation "games" (and I use that term loosely). You get a fairly good flight model at low cost, and also good graphics. They are usually intended for VFR flight, and not for serious IFR practice. * High-end Simulators -- This category includes software packages like Elite and IFT-Pro. They typically will have a 6 DOF flight model, realistic performance, high fidelity, and are designed to provide existing or future pilots with serious IFR practice. They are also considerably more expensive, ranging from $150 to $600 or so. C2. Can I maintain my IFR currency with a PC-based simulator? There is no PC-based program that can, at the present time, be used to log IFR hours. However, the following products are recommended for serious IFR practice: "Elite" by Azuresoft(?) is an extremely expensive, but highly realistic IFR trainer that is available for the Mac and IBM. There are several different versions out, depending on what type of computer you have, and they all require a flight yoke of some kind or another. Elite is not a toy, and is probably the most accurate and realistic PC-based simulator, both in terms of flying characteristics, and instrument panel simulation. The list price for Elite varies from $400 to $700, depending on which version you purchase. "Instrument Pilot" by Precision Training is an IBM (386 or better) based integrated instrument rating instructional simulator. It comes with speech generation hardware to simulate communications and includes all equipment necessary for instrument training ground school. List is about $495, and it can be purchased directly from the company at (800) 452-0465. "IFT-Pro" from Flight Deck is also a good choice. Though not as complex as Elite, it still offers a high level of instrument and flight realism, and is an excellent package. It's also a lot cheaper.. list is somewhere around $350. It is available for IBM systems. "Cross-Country Instrument Flight Trainer", from T-34 Microsystems, is an excellent IFR trainer available for the Mac. It sells for about $150 and can be purchased from Microsystems directly, (800) 543-2259. "FS100", by MDM Systems, Inc., is an IBM PC-based (286 or better) flight sim that is intended for IFR training, and has a "pilot console" that attaches to your serial port. The console has switches for nav/com radios, throttle/prop/mixture, flaps/gears, etc.. Databases constructed from Jepp NavData are available for $75 each. The company is in Charlotte, NC and their number is 704-523-7400. List price is $595. C3. Will an FPU/Math Co-processor increase my simulator performance? Robert Dorsett writes: Most flight simulators, as with most games, use fixed-point integer arithmetic. They do this both because most production machines, until recently, haven't had an FPU, but they also do it because this approach is significantly *faster* than FPU performance. This approach is also used by real-life avionics and simulator manufacturers, and obviously is not a "limitation." A common misconception is that an FPU adds more "precision," and leads to greater "realism." This is wrong. A simulator must explicitly code for FPU use. Thus, simply by adding an FPU, one won't see any magical speed changes. So unless a simulator explicitly *requires* an FPU, or *states* that it will benefit from an FPU, don't bother buying one, unless you can use it elsewhere. Simulators that don't use an FPU: Hellcats over the Pacific (Mac) Leyte Gulf (Mac) ATP (IBM) FS4 (IBM and Mac) FS5 (IBM) Simulators that do: Elite (all versions, IBM and Mac) C4. Are there any space simulators? Virgin produces a simulator simply entitled "Shuttle". It is by far one of the most complex, detailed, and realistic simulators available for the PC, Amiga, and Atari ST. Another, older, program, called "Orbiter", is available for Mac systems. | C5. What flight simulators are available for Unix systems? There are currently three flight simulation programs that you can run on a Sun workstation running SunOS/Unix, or on X-Window systems: Flight Sim (fltsim.tar.Z) -- A flight simulator for Sun systems. No documentation, only some notes on what systems it has been run on (Sun3, 4, 386, IPX with 8-bit color). Air Combat Maneuvers (acm.2.4.tar.Z) -- A LAN-based combat simulator for the X-11 window environment. It simulates F-16 and Mig-23 aircraft and is a client/server package, meaning that several players can fly against one another when connected to the same server. A separate FAQ is maintained for ACM, and is posted here periodically. Aviator (???) -- Stefan Frick writes: I think it started as a demo-project by two SUN-employees to exploit the performance of the GX-graphics-accelerator. One of them is Bruce Factor, can't remember the other one...[The other is Curtis Priem - Paulo Ney de Souza] A couple of years ago, you could get the program for free from your local sales-rep., but the authors formed their own company, called 'Artificial Horizons' and it became a commercial product. The simulator models the FA-18, X-29 and Boeing 727. Is uses terrain-data from the US Geological Survey and it gives at great sense of realism. The cost of Aviator is $40 (US) for the liscence + $8 (US) for the media. | Scott Chan writes: | | Silicon Graphics workstations come bundled with a flight simulator | located in the demos. One can take-off, land, and dog fight in a | Cessna 150, B747, F15, P38, etc. Flight characteristics "seem" pretty | good; frame rate is good, but depends on hardware platform and detail | selected. Scenery is somewhat sparse. Instruments are useful but not | realistic. There is also a heads-up display instrument panel. | | Dogfighting takes place against other employees goofing off over the | network. I have no idea if it's been ported to other platforms which | have OpenGL... C6. Are there any Air Traffic Control simulators? "TRACON II" by Wesson International is available for many platforms. It is an excellent simulation of ATC, and the PC version can even be linked to Microsoft Flight Simulators for multi-player interactive flying and ATC. There are several variants available, including TRACON for Windows, and TRACON Pro (suitable for training real ATC personnel). Recently, Wesson released a "cosmetic" upgrade of TRACON for IBM under the title name "ATC". Mallard is now handling this distribution of this product, which is basically a combination of the IBM versions of TRACON for DOS and TRACON for Windows (both are included in the package). It is believed that the "ATC" line will replace the "TRACON" title and will continue to be distributed through Mallard. "TRACON Pro" however, will remain a Wesson-distributed product. "TRACON" is also available for Macintosh systems The rumors of the "Microsoft ATC simulator" probably came about when some people confused the Tower simulator under development by Wesson and BAO with the new TRACON/ATC package, and concluded that a product called "ATC" was going to be released by Microsoft, the publisher of BAO's Flight Simulator. Currently, the ultimate publisher for Tower is undecided, and no release date has been set. [ -RDD] C7. Where can I get information about the various flight simulators? There is an archive that contains reviews, bug-fixes and notices, screen snapshots, and other related information that you can get via anonymous FTP: rascal.ics.utexas.edu (128.83.138.20) misc/av/simulator-folder Another excellent source is the WAIS service at quake.think.com. Simple TELNET to quake.think.com and login as wais. Select the flight_sim source and ask about the topic you are interested in. A list of articles will be given to you, after which you select the ones you want to read. If you wish to keep a copy of an article, you can have it mailed to you. C8. Where can I buy flight-related software? There are a few good places to try. I am sure there are more, but these companies really stand out (feel free to add to this list): Egghead Software (800) EGG-HEAD Software of all types. Flight Computing (800) 992-7737 Flight-related software and more. Very aviation- oriented. TekMate (713) 440-5542 TekMate has all subLOGIC scenery disks, in addition to other products. Electronics Boutique (800) 800-5166 Mallard Direct (800) WEB-FEET DataWings (713) 431-1079 C9. Are there any flight-sim-related mailing lists? Falcon 3 users can join the Falcon mailing list by sending a message to "majordomo@onion.rain.com" with the line "subscribe falcon3" in the BODY of the message. The Flight Simulator mailing list is mostly centered around MS FS, but is not restricted to any particular product or class of products. All requests to be added to or deleted from the list should be sent to "flight-sim-request@grove.iup.edu" as should problems or questions relating to its operation. Section D: Microsoft Flight Simulator -------------------------------------- D1. What kind of performance should I expect from FS5? The faster your machine, the better off you will be. Although a 386 is the minimum recommended processor on the box, you will find that you'll want a 486DX *at least* if you want to use all of FS5's new features and still get high frame rates. To give you an idea of the "low end" computers, my 386DX/25 gives a frame rate of between 2 and 5 fps at Chicago with the following configuration: ET4000 video card, 320x400 VGA (256 colors) Textured sky, gradient horizon Textured ground Normal scenery density No dynamic scenery No shadows No building textures No aircraft texture Airport lighting on "Enhanced readibility" instrument panel No image smoothing Low instrument update rate I can increase this frame rate to about 3 to 8 fps by removing the textured ground. Removing the textured sky further increases frame rate, and switching to the 16-color mode essentially turns the graphics display to FS4 levels, but with a slightly lower frame rate than FS4 (this last one is difficult to measure accurately). These frame rates are playable and acceptable to me. A 486DX2/50 or higher will (in most circumstances) allow you to run with all the special effects turned on with more acceptable frame rates [Can anyone give me some specific numbers? -JM]. You'll find that your video card will make a big difference, especially if you are running VLB. Configuring for large disk caches (1 MB to 2 MB) will further increase performance, and FS5 prefers EMS to XMS. The main idea to remember is that you can't expect to turn on all the display options and dense scenery and still get high frame rates, especially if you have a 386 processor. FS5 is essential a 486 program, and unless you turn down the details to match your processor, you will not be happy with the results. | D2. Is there a bug list for FS5? How about any patches? There sure is, but its so long that I am not including it in the FAQ. For those of you with CompuServe access, you can download FS5LST.TXT in LIB 2 of FSFORUM for a list of most of the bugs. This list has also been posted here a couple of times, as well as in the Flight Sim | mailing list. It is also available for FTP from ftp.iup.edu in the | FS5 directory, filename FS5LST.TXT. To be fair, however, one must also acknowledge that both BAO and Microsoft are communicating with FS5 users via email and other media, and BAO has expressed great sincerity in wanting to work with the users in making FS5 a better product and in working on hammering out all the bugs and problems. | A patch for FS5 has also been released that clears up most/all of | the joystick and sound problems evident in the first release. This | patch is available from ftp.iup.edu in the FS5 directory as file | FS5PATCH.ZIP. | D3. What add-ons are available for FS5? As of right now, the only add-ons that are available are the scenery disks distributed through Mallard. These scenery disks each cover a major city (San Francisco, New York, Paris, etc...) in great detail, and part of the surrounding area. With all the details turned up, the San Francisco scenery has given frame rates as low as 2 frames/sec on a 486DX2/66 (worst case), so these disks are definitely not for the CPU-impaired if you want to partake of *all* the features. | BAO also released a frame counter that tells you how many frames per | second you are getting in FS5. It is available from ftp.iup.edu in | the FS5 directory, as filename FC-FSO.ZIP. D4. What products are available for FS 4 (IBM)? There are several commercial products available for the IBM version of FS 4. Most of these are listed below: * Aircraft and Adventure Factory -- Allows you to create aircraft models for your A&SD/FS 4 aircraft. Note that the aircraft factory is not and does not modify flight characteristics or parameters, it is merely a "paint shop" for designing the *visual model* only. The Adventure Factory lets you create interactive FS "adventures" that you can use to do a variety of things, such as simulate Air Traffic Control. * Aircraft and Scenery Designer -- Design your own static and dynamic scenery. * Facilities Locator -- Both subLOGIC and Mallard distribute a facilities locator that can instantly place you at any airport or nav-aid in the FS database. Both products have different features. * Scenery Enhancement Editor -- Enhance your A&SD scenery files by adding custom library objects, day/dusk/night effects, rotating and elevating scenery objects, and much more. * Sound and Graphics Upgrade -- Provides sound support (and digitized sound) for most of the popular sound boards (SB, SBPro, AdLib, etc..). Also has graphics drives for VGA and SVGA modes (only certain SVGA cards are supported). Scenery disks are also available from subLOGIC and Mallard. D5. What products are available for FS 4 (Mac)? Currently, the only "add-on" products for the Macintosh are the Scenery Disks I - IV from BAO (note that only I - III are needed to cover the continental US). Note that there is NO scenery designer for Macintosh systems, and the last anyone knew, there were no plans for one. D6. What is the difference between the aircraft "designers" in AAF and A&SD? A&SD is the program that actually allows you to design the flight characteristics of your aircraft (within certain limits). The Aircraft Factory in AAF, however, is merely a "paint shop" that lets you draw the outward appearance of your design. It does not allow modification of your aircraft's flight parameters. In short, if you wanted to design a 727, A&SD would make your plane *fly* like a 727, while AAF would make your plane *look* like a 727. AAF can also be used to generate "static" scenery library objects (.SC0 files) that can be inserted into your scenery files. Thus, you could also put your 727 in a static scenery file, and display it parked at your favorite airport terminal. | D7. Has anyone decoded the scenery file format? Or the other file formats used by FS 4 and 5? There is an excellent description of the various FS 4 file formats in a file called FSSTRUCT.ZIP, and an FS Structure decoder exists under the archive name FSDECODE.ZIP with accompanying files in DES.ZIP. Both can be obtained via anon FTP from the ftp.iup.edu site in the directory FLIGHT-SIM.FSDECODE (see section F). | FS5STRUC.ZIP is also available, and discusses the currently known FS 5 | file formats. It comes with .DES files for use with FSDECODE, above. | D8. Is there a way to get real ATC for Flight Simulator v4.0? IBM users have the following options: TRACON/ATC, from Wesson and Mallard (described above), can link with two computers running Flight Simulator, and allow you to send your ATC messages to the Flight Simulator programs. With special hardware, up to 16 FS porgrams can be linked. Pilot's Power Tools, a commercial product from Mallard, let's you design AAF adventures from your flight plan. These adventures will provide you with full ATC from takeoff to landing, and VOC support is included. Approach Control, a shareware product from John Mechalas, generates AAF adventures that simulate airport approach control at any user- defined airport. These adventures provide you with the ATC commands needed to line you up for an instrument approach for the runway most favored by the local winds. VOC support is included. It is available form ftp.iup.edu in the FLIGHT-SIM.AAF directory. ATC Net, also a shareware product from John Mechalas, generates AAF adventures that create entire ATC "networks" for your FS4 world. You can create several pre-defined adventures as well as define several airports all in the same .ADV file. Full ATC is provided from takeoff to landing, and it incorporates the Approach Control engine for instrument approaches. It is available from ftp.iup.edu in the AAF directory. | Mac users can try the following product: | | FS-ATC is a shareware program from Miika Asunta that uses undocu- | mented Apple Events to find the position of your aircraft, and | sends messages to the FS program via the Notification Manager. | It also speaks the ATC messages vi the Speech Manager. The file | fs-atc-21-cpt.hqx is currently available from the sites | sumex.aim.stanford.edu, mac.archive.umich.edu and their mirrors, as | well as ftp.iup.edu. D9. Why doesn't my copy of USA East work properly with FS4? Most problems with USA East are caused by low memory (these problems include: no runways or buildings displayed when scenery is loaded, loss of map or multiple 3d windows, and sometimes very low frame rates). Because USA East is so large, those of you with A&SD installed with have to cut their static and dynamic memory allocations. It is also recommended that you install a memory manager in order to maximize the amout of 640k base memory that is available from DOS. Last, do not use the SVGA modes that come with S&GA, particularly the 800x600 mode. These higher res modes both eat up memory *and* lower frame rates. A good way to monitor your available memory in FS is to use the Sound Control menu (if you have SOUND.DRV installed) as you modify your A&SD settings. Section E: Specific Questions about Other Products: ---------------------------------------------------- E1. Why doesn't my Sound Blaster card work with ATP? If you are hearing only the first word of every ATC message through your sound card, it is generally cause by an improper setting in the SETBLASTER line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT. Linda McGarry writes: I had the same problem with only 'Los' spoken from my Soundblaster card. After a few phone calls to my supplier, I found out that there is another option to the SETBLASTER environment variable that is not mentioned in the leaflet that comes with the upgrade, the T (type of soundblaster?). I have: SETBLASTER=A220 D1 I5 T1 (??) (I believe that the recommended value of T for current soundblaster cards is T3). Hope this helps! E2. The KU antenna won't deploy in Shuttle, and I can't de-orbit. Is there a fix? Joel Murray writes: There is a bug-fix available directly from Virgin. All you have to do is send them a letter stating that you want the fix and enclose the UPC code from the back of the box. I did and have experienced NO problems since installing the fix. By the way, if you type SHUTTLE /ALL (I think), all of the missions become available to you. Section F: FTP Sites --------------------- F1. Are there any FTP sites that have flight-sim related material? There are several places you can go (IP addresses are subject to change. Please use the alias/name if possible): ftp.ulowell.edu (129.63.17.1) A&SD Scenery (US scenery) /msdos/Games/FltSim/Scenery + some IBM utils wuarchive.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4) A&SD Scenery (US scenery) /mirrors2/msdos-games/FltSim/Scenery (ftp.ulowell.edu mirror) ftp.uwp.edu (131.210.1.4) (ftp.ulowell.edu mirror) ftp.iup.edu (144.80.128.8) A&SD scenery and aircraft + (alias for acorn.grove.iup.edu) general FS info. Lotsa (This is a VAX/VMS machine) goodies in the various directories. Mostly IBM, but some Mac stuff. onion.rain.com (147.28.0.161) Falcon 3 missions and misc /pub/falcon3 progs/utilities etc.. cactus.org Mirror of the above. Better Internet connections, but no uploads. | F2. Where can I get FltSim, ACM, and Aviator? The following sites are taken from archie as of 12/2/93: fltsim.tar.Z -- isy.liu.se /pub/sunview kth.se /kth/misc laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au /Sources/X/Games lysator.liu.se /pub/sun/games | acm-4.0.tar.Z -- ftp.x.org /contrib | plaza.aarnet.edu.au /X11/contrib | sun0.urz.uni-heidelberg.de / | ftp.denet.dk /mirror1/X11/contrib | pdq.coe.montana.edu /pub/mirrors/X11-contrib | sunsite.unc.edu /pub/X11/contrib | cs.huji.ac.il /pub/X11/contrib | ftp.germany.eu.net /pub/X11/contrib | ftp.luth.se /pub/X11/contrib Aviator can be purchased from QUALiX (yes, that's a lower-case "i") for $48 (US): QUALiX GROUP, Inc. 1900 S. Norfolk St., Suite 224 San Mateo, CA 94403 Phone: 1-800-245-UNIX, 415-572-0200 Fax: 1-415-572-1300 E-mail: info@qualix.com A Windows port for ACM is under construction currently, and a demo of ACM for Windows is available at ftp.iup.edu in the FLIGHT-SIM.ACM directory. It requires a 386/7 for the floating point power, and runs as a native Windows App. F3. How do I upload files to the various flight-sim FTP sites? The incoming/uploads directories for some sites are given below. Read the README files at the particular site for details on the upload procedures. Site Directory Comments ---------- ------------- ------------- ftp.iup.edu UPLOADS: Note the colon after the directory name-- it's needed. ftp.ulowell.edu /pub Archiver puts new files out every month or so. Mail to archiver after uploading. wuarchive.wust.edu /pub/MSDOS_UPLOADS/games onion.rain.com /pub/falcon3/incoming Mail to archiver after uploading. Remeber to always send mail to the archiver after uploading a file. F4. Where else can I get flight-sim related materials? One other source, if you don't have Internet access, is to check out FSFORUM on CompuServe. The libraries and forums there cover flight simulation of all types, from games to simulators like FS to air traffic control and more. [Does anyone have information on Prodigy or GEnie? --JM] Section G: Misc. ----------------- G1. What happened between subLOGIC, Microsoft, and BAO? Glenn Wallace writes [trimmed for brevity -JM]: Well, it turns out it was BOTH Microsoft and Bruce Artwick that filed against subLOGIC... Ancient history I know, but I just had to dig this stuff up... ------- reprinted without permission, of course ------- Q65285 PR Court Enjoins Release of SubLOGIC's Flight Simulator: ATP Microsoft News Releases (NEWS) Court Enjoins Release of SubLOGIC Corporation's Flight Simulator: ATP SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- August 28, 1990 -- Finding that there is a strong likelihood of copyright infringement of Microsoft(R) Flight Simulator(R), Federal District Court Judge Richard Mills has ordered an injunction against the release of Flight Simulator: Airline Transport Pilot (Flight Simulator: ATP) by SubLOGIC Corporation. This preliminary injunction prohibits SubLOGIC Corporation from distributing Flight Simulator: ATP pending resolution of the copyright infringement suit filed by Microsoft on December 19, 1989 against SubLOGIC Corporation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Illinois. Microsoft filed its complaint alleging that Flight Simulator: ATP infringes Microsoft's copyright in Flight Simulator by its use of computer code taken from Microsoft Flight Simulator. Microsoft requested an injunction in papers filed July 18, 1989 after SubLOGIC announced its intention to release Flight Simulator: ATP on July 23, 1990. ---------- Q67946 PR MS & Bruce Artwick Reach Settlement with SubLOGIC Microsoft News Releases (NEWS) Microsoft and Bruce Artwick Reach Settlement with SubLOGIC CHAMPAIGN, Illinois -- December 21, 1990 -- Microsoft and Bruce Artwick reached a settlement today with SubLOGIC concerning various lawsuits which arose out of SubLOGIC's planned release of its ATP (Airline Transport Pilot) product. Artwick and Microsoft filed separate claims in U.S. District Court in Illinois earlier this year claiming that ATP would infringe copyrights in the Microsoft(R) Flight Simulator(R) product. The agreement settles all claims and counterclaims asserted in both federal cases as well as those asserted in a state case filed by Artwick. The settlement will lift a preliminary injunction which was entered by the federal court on July 24, 1990, barring the release of ATP. The settlement permits SubLOGIC to release one version of ATP containing certain computer code from older versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator. The settlement acknowledges Microsoft's ownership of Microsoft Flight Simulator software copyrights, it acknowledges Artwick's ownership of other Flight Simulator software copyrights, and it acknowledges SubLOGIC's ownership of the scenery disk software copyrights. As a result of the settlement, Artwick will own the "Flight Simulator" trademark, but SubLOGIC will continue to publish Artwick's Flight Simulator software products for computers like the Apple(R) II, Atari(R), and Commodore(R) under license from Artwick. "The agreement allows all parties to turn their attention full time to developing products. SubLOGIC plans to release ATP as soon as possible and to continue development of scenery disks. ATP will simulate the flight of five aircraft, the Boeing 737, 747, 767, the Airbus A320, and the Shorts 360, between 26 major cities throughout the United States. Scenery Disk 12, covering the northeastern United States, is now also available for release," said Stuart Moment of SubLOGIC. "Microsoft and Artwick will continue to work together to produce new versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator as well as exciting new products such as the recently released Microsoft Flight Simulator Aircraft & Scenery Designer. This add-on product for Microsoft Flight Simulator version 4.0 allows users to customize their flight environment with a powerful scenery designer. The package also includes four new aircraft, including a Boeing 747-400 developed in conjunction with Boeing," said Charles Fitzgerald, Microsoft's product manager for Microsoft Flight Simulator. "The Bruce Artwick Organization will continue to be a significant player in the development of flight simulation software, not only through our work with Microsoft on Microsoft Flight Simulator, but also through new products we will be releasing in the future," said Bruce Artwick, chairman of The Bruce Artwick Organization, Ltd. G2. How do I submit comments, suggestions, or corrections to the FAQ? Send email to mechalas@gn.ecn.purdue.edu. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- John Mechalas "I'm not an actor, but mechalas@gn.ecn.purdue.edu I play one on TV." Aero Engineering, Purdue University #include disclaimer.h