Project G42-200 StarLiner

[Izack]

Wow, that's looking good, Moach.

 

[Moach]

How many of the buttons that are visible in those screenies will be functional?

hmm, all of them :thumbup:

now, flicking them up and down is one thing... whether or not that really does anything is a whole other story :lol:


my plan is to go by parts... first step (and first release), i'll model a orbiter-standard craft, capable of flying full missions, but not simulated in-depth...

then i'll add more advanced systems, electrics, hydraulics, you name it... one at a time, and i'll release WIP versions whenever things are stable...


last step should be the FMC and emergencies simulation... :hmm:


i have positively no idea how long that would take... i'm going one thing at a time...
try to keep up with this thread - i'm posting updates pretty much every time i get something noteworthy done

 

[Hlynkacg]

Off topic question; will she have a window overhead so one can admire the ISS while docked?

Also, how tall is the tail-fin in meters?

 

[Moach]

Off topic question; will she have a window overhead so one can admire the ISS while docked?

Also, how tall is the tail-fin in meters?

the bay-facing console area has STS-like overhead windows you can see whatever you're docked into from there

of course... i have not yet modelled that far


as for the tail... i'm not sure... i would have to measure it to tell...
i've just eyeballed it's proportions to the rest of the airframe (i kinda developed an eye for that from afternoons of building model gliders as a teenager)

the fuselage is just about 85 meters long... so it should also be possible to figure out the tail size from that...


well, i'm done for today.. more tomorrow

 

[Fabri91]

This is coming along really well I have to say!

 

[Moach]

ok, i got the MFD buttons updating and all :thumbup: - looks nice

now we need to get them operating... i think i'll have a 3dsMax script automate some of that process... most of those buttons are implemented the same... if i gather their mesh iD's in an array, i can just loop throught them and get everything set up :hmm:


more later

 

[deltawing777]

Wow! thats really looking good. Nice work :thumbup:

 

[halcyon]

Jeez Moach, at this rate the plane will be done in 2 months!
Fantastic cockpit layout. Provides total immersion.

 

[Moach]

Jeez Moach, at this rate the plane will be done in 2 months!
Fantastic cockpit layout. Provides total immersion.

thanks! - total immersion is just what i was going for :thumbup:


not sure about being done in two months - i'd like that, but not sure if it's even physically possible :lol:

 

[Interceptor]

WOW!Moach,very impressive,awsome work so far.:tiphat::thumbup:

 

[Moach]

got buttons!

they're working - and this time, with on-button labels for YOUR convenience

i found it's a lot easier to code for setting them all up at once being fed from a list... beats doing ctrl+c/ctrl+v and filling up a page of repeated code :lol:

plus - adding further MFD's now is cake!

 

[Grover]

than cockpit looks INCREDIBLE and the MFDs look fantastic to boot its looking like this VC will be as user friendly as the FSX ones, and those are the only ones i can use properly for all parts of flight

the colour scheme is shaping up like a dark Airbus style, very modern/Futuristic

and those named buttons: an addition that should be a legal requirement, yet seem rare

awesome work Moach, i noticed someone mention 2 months, but i think you could get a working first release in less than one, maybe a final in 2/3

Later

 

[Eli13]

I'm McLoving this!

 

[Moach]

alright - today i got some extra time at home to adapt the flight dynamics from the '100 into the new version...

that's right, i said flight dynamics - which means - IT FLIES :woohoo:


i haven't gotten around to porting the full engine simulation stuff - but i did get the extra HUD info thingies and some more bits and bytes worth of code in :thumbup:

i was playing around with the afterburner - which i have implemented as a separate set of thrusters from the gas generators (turbines), when throttle is above 80% it kicks in - which feels quite right at takeoff run start

the new flight dynamics have been severely altered - the G42-100 is heavier than the '100... but it's also significantly more stable to fly - you dont even need to trim it out, most of the time the "flight computer" (or "impossibly high rot-drag") keeps the nose wherever you point it

it feels right - and that's what matters :hmm:


i think i'll try to land 'er in again, this time as a glider... powered approach and landing was quite a success (although the braking was a bit hard, with the fuel weight and missing drogue chute) :lol:



i'll post some in-flight pics in a bit

---------- Post added at 11:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:41 PM ----------

...and there she is!

the landing gears don't move yet... well, actually nothing does, for i have coded no animations so far :hmm: - i suspect that's the primary reason for this fault

that, i'll do tomorow... as much as i can, that is... you know how it is, real life, it gets in the way




---------- Post added 04-20-11 at 12:07 AM ---------- Previous post was 04-19-11 at 11:50 PM ----------

ok, a VC shot of me approaching the SLF runway - no, i'm not too low, i got two large engines backing me up on this descent :lol:

the landing that followed was - as is expected when carrying an almost full-tank fuel load - not for the faint-hearted


don't try this in the finished release (whenever that might be) - for i plan to simulate brakes heating and tires popping, which should bring all assortments of doom upon those who dare a "hot" landing...
the G42 does have a brake cooling system... but that's meant mostly for rejected takeoffs, and probably shouldn't be abused :shifty:

 

[Coolhand]

you know how it is, real life, it gets in the way

:lol:

looking great moach, gonna have some fun in this one when its done.:tiphat:

 

[edsupagood]

Looks awesome moach, you are working so much faster than I original expected :thumbup:

 

[Grover]

I know its a little late, bit is it possible to fix an MFD at one specific MFD, so you could have the COM MFD fixed in one MFD, and then you'd only need 4 buttons on it

Just a thought i had...

 

[Moach]

I know its a little late, bit is it possible to fix an MFD at one specific MFD, so you could have the COM MFD fixed in one MFD, and then you'd only need 4 buttons on it

Just a thought i had...

that's actually perfectly posssible... only MFD's 0 and 1 (left and right) have built-in keyboard access, the others must be coded "manually"

so i think i'll rig that engineer-side radio screen to work that way :thumbup:

why would we reinvent the wheel?

 

[Grover]

Perhaps you could do the same for one of the pilots MFDs, theres plenty of them around anyway

 

[Moach]

Perhaps you could do the same for one of the pilots MFDs, theres plenty of them around anyway

hmm, those are EICAS screens... they're G42-specific and are not properly fitted out to run MFD-type stuff... same goes for the Electronic-Flight-Bag thingy

but if the pilot wants to manually set the nav radios), he can simply use the COM/NAV MFD the same way we've been doing all along :thumbup:

having a dedicated screen for that does not disable other MFD's from accessing it as well :hmm: