Development

When did you start developing for flight simulators and what got you interested in it?

My fascination with aviation started (like many) during my childhood. Aircraft, airports, anything connected to manned flight attracted my attention. As a boy I loved to read and I think I must have read every single Biggles book four times over. The adventures contained in those book only helped to increase my interest.

Living as a child in Belgium, on rainy days (we had a few of those), I made super detailed dioramas from cheap Airfix models. I'm proud to say that I achieved quite a few awards for my dioramas and the key to my success was that each had to have A) super detail, B) to be weathered appropriately. Most of the other 'kits' and dioramas I saw looked as if they had just come out of a showroom. This made them look plasticky and not particularly realistic.

When I was 16 years old I joined the Belgium Air Force. Besides attending the military school, I was never stationed in Belgium. In 1988 I left the Air Force and moved to the sunny coast of Southern Virginia (USA). At present I work for the government.

Could you tell us a little about what you did in the air force?

During my time in the air force, I was mostly stationed in Germany. This was due to my background in radar and electronic engineering.

Marc, what have been your favorite X-Plane projects?

I don't have one particular favorite project, as each one has its own unique charm. From an interest point of view, I'd have to mention W75 (I like small cluttered airports). W75 is picturesque in appearance and was a real challenge to recreate, especially in regards to the atmosphere the airport exhibits. International airports don't really interest me. In my opinion they are just big blobs of concrete and massive parking lots with people hurrying everywhere.

What software packages and tools do you use to develop?

The primary applications I use are: WED (World Editor), Overlay Editor, SketchUp and Photoshop. These I use on my i7 laptop which lives next to the sofa. When my wife watches TV, I sneakily create airports! As for my own flight simulation setup, well this is very much a home-brewed cockpit system.

Most flight simmers just have the basic PC and joystick, so could you tell us a bit more about your home-brew cockpit?

I know many people are happy to use just a joystick and keyboard as their main flight controls, but for me, I wanted added realism. A keyboard and joystick (in my opinion) just don't achieve the realism needed to simulate flight. My first home brew cockpit consisted of just a keyboard, which I disassembled and wired the keys to some Radio Shack buttons. At first I used branded yokes as my main flight controllers, but these didn't feel smooth and also didn't have the right resistance needed. They also felt plasticity which didn't help (even though they were a respected brand)!

I then happened to stumble on a Precision Flight Instruments yoke that was made entirely of metal. After a few modifications I managed to make a yoke that felt a lot like the real thing. Like many of you reading, I enjoy flying a variety of aircraft and this is why you will notice (in the pictures), reverse thrust levers next to prop and condition controls. Also included is a weapon control panel, drag-chute and ejection switches, which I must point out, don't work when flying the Cessna 172!

Besides the collection of OEM gear (Saitek and GoFlight) I have also made some of my own instruments. These were made from old Nokia phones and aircraft parts purchased at an aircraft graveyard. These are then interfaced with Arduino based controllers and a couple of Pokeys controllers. In total, I'm using 28 USB ports and two RS422 ports (a challenge to configure without conflicts).

Marc, was X-Plane the first simulator you used?

No, it was actually Microsoft Flight Simulator. Whilst being an attractive flight simulator, I found the flight model somewhat wanting, so I switched over to X-Plane 6, but found there was next to no scenery for it! I then dabbled with Fly! and a few others, but it wasn't until X-Plane 9 that I really started to get into 'simming'. The thing that's always impressed me about the MSFS series, especially FSX (almost ten years old now) is the amazing scenery available for it. This got me thinking; why was it that FSX could have amazing scenery, but us X-Plane users had to be content with bare bone scenery? Being aware of the numerous object libraries available to scenery designers (OpenSceneryX, etc.), I created my very first, what are called 'lego brick' sceneries. It wasn't the answer, but it was a start in the right direction.

Then in 2013 I had a very bad car accident and my world changed. I was bedridden for over a year and to say things were difficult during that time, is an understatement. In between taking the morphine, I could dabble a little, using one hand, on the laptop. I was going bananas because of this, as people who know me will tell you, I'm not a person who can sit or lay still. However...all was not lost as it was during this time that I encountered SketchUp!

All I can say about this amazing piece of software, is that SketchUp must be the most user friendly 3D modeling software ever released, and to top it all off, it's free! With time not a factor, I dedicated my time (day and often nights) to learning the ins and outs of SketchUp.

How long did it take you to learn SketchUp?

You never finish learning SketchUp but its user interface is so easy that anybody should be able to create a simple hangar in a weekend (even if you've never used SketchUp before). THE guru's swear by a package called Blender, the same gurus who told me that it was impossible to create vehicles, planes, humans or anything involving complex curves in SketchUp. Well, sorry guys, I proved you wrong!

Don't get me wrong, Blender is a very sophisticated piece of software, capable of producing stunning results, but the learning curve is way too steep. Blender might be the preferred package to create payware aircraft but there is no need to get a "degree" in Blender just to create stunning sceneries. In my opinion, stick with SketchUp.

The Team

How many people work with you?

Like another developer you've interviewed (can't remember which), my team consists of myself and my cats! Yes you heard correctly, cats!

LOL, you're right Marc, it was Maarten Boelens! If I remember, Maarten's cats actually tried to help him out, do yours?

No, mine aren't so...helpful. They lay on top of the keyboard and do their very best to screw up my designs!

What other developers or teams have you worked with and what were their roles?

Over the years I've had the pleasure of working with Freddy De Pues of NAPS. Freddy is a great guy and together we nit pick each others designs. Our friendship is such that we can do that without killing each other! Freddy also tests my airports and NAPS has the sole rights to use my custom made objects.

Real Life

Do you have any experience in real aviation?

Although I have quite a few hours flying different aircraft, I do not (as yet) have a pilots license.

Marc, would you like to share what you do in real life?

Apart from my government work, my background is in electronic engineering and software programming. Aviation follows me to work too as my office chair is actually an ejection seat!

Somebody told me that you actually have a WWII bomber in your yard, is this true?

You must have some good contacts Dominic as this is indeed true! The plan is to interface the whole thing with X-Plane, much to the disgust of my wife I may add!

How on earth did you come by it?

During one of my photo shoots at a local airport I was stopped by a retired crop-duster pilot (maybe it was my beard, accent and three cameras round my neck that made him approach me, I don't know). Anyway we got chatting and during the conversation the pilot mentioned that he had a neighbor (farmer) who had something I might be interested in and he asked if he could have my phone number. I gave it to him and after saying goodbye, went about taking my photos.

The crop-duster (Joe) contacted me a while later and informed me that his neighbor was selling the fuselage of a twin engined WWII bomber (virtually complete cockpit) and would I be interested in it? After seeing some images of the aircraft (which had faded WWII US navy markings), we worked out a price and a delivery method (Joe had a cousin or friend who had a transportation company) and a little while later the aircraft was delivered. Suffice to say, my wife was not over the moon!

So what type of aircraft is it?

All I can say is that it's a twin engine late WWII bomber (high altitude). It must have belonged to the US Navy as she has US Navy SN# all over the place. The rudder pedals are Lockheed and the radar and NAV systems are all common WWII types (late). At one time the aircraft must have been converted to a military flight simulator as it has huge belt driven motors connected to the yokes and pedals.

Since owning her, I've sent images to the Navy museum in Florida and contacted the Smithsonian, but even though the serial numbers are indeed Navy, they deny the existence of any high altitude aircraft used by the Navy during that time period.

What other hobbies or things do you do for enjoyment?

Too many to mention! I restore Alfa Romeos (have quite a collection), restore tractors and I am an avid photographer. However, at the moment most of my spare time is going into the restoration of an 1800's three-story beach house. Like I said, I can't keep still!

Why Alfa Romeo?

When I was younger and growing up in Belgium I always wanted a Spider but that model was always out of my budget, plus driving a convertible in Belgium is not a bright idea, unless you like driving around in a raincoat. There are many nice cars on this planet but when it comes to styling, the Italians still beat the rest! In the US (down west) you can find some pretty good rust free examples. I purchased one and bought another one for spare parts. The latter turned out to be in too good of a condition to cannibalize so my collection grew to four Spiders, an Alfa 75 (aka Alfa Milano) and a Fiat Spider.

My Alfa homepage:

http://myalfa.tripod.com

Have you ever considered doing flight simulator development full time?

I have thought about it but the problem is that when I create a scenery, my entire soul goes into it. I also like to work on them when the time feels right. If scenery design ever became a job then some of that passion might disappear.

Future

How do you choose your next new design or project?

To create a super detailed airport requires thousands of pictures to be taken. The problem is that after September 11th everything changed in regards to being allowed access, so sometimes it can take forever to get authorization. Gone are the days when you could walk around an airport with three Nikons around your neck! However, saying all that, I must mention the staff at KFYJ who were absolutely super in allowing me access to their airport. My thanks to all of them.

What are some of the most important things a site or community can do to help the developers?

Personally I do not think that most community members (X-Plane and MSFS) realize how much work is involved in creating the very things they so enjoy.

We (the developers) spend countless hours of our own free time so that we can share our 'gifts' with you, the community, so as a community, please, give us some feedback! A two word 'thank you' goes a long long way and is a fantastic moral booster! Think about it ... 1400 hours average at a minimum of $10 an hour. This works out as a $14,000 gift for FREE.

So Marc, in a few words, what makes a great airport?

Detail and weathering, just like when you make a diorama with your Airfix or Tamiya models. Weathering is what makes it realistic. I have seen so many nicely modeled airports spoilt by shiny plastic looking grey concrete. Nature is an artist, so use her!

If you could add one 'wish' feature to X-Plane, what would it be?

From a purely developers point of view, some improved integrated utilities wouldn't go amiss (WED with a 3D preview) or perhaps a more flexible Overlay Editor. A 3D mesh editor with GUI (not command line driven) would also be well received.

As far as X-Plane proper is concerned, then it would have to be a working ATC system!

Come on Laminar, MSFS is over ten years old, but its ATC is far more sophisticated than the one included in X-Plane 10.

What would be your dream airport to create?

St. Maarten's would be fun, or perhaps some abandoned airfield located on an atoll. If anybody would like those modeled....send me an airline ticket, pay for my stay and I will create it for you, LOL.

A special thanks to Jonathan "Marginal" Harris and Sandy Barbour as without their utilities and plugins, my work would have never been possible.

Marc, finally, what would you like people to know about your work?

Workflow!

Taking pictures at an airport can be a challenge all by itself. Sometimes parked vehicles, a sign or bushes might block your view, so many attempts might be made at the same location. Remembering which pictures correspond to which part of an airport is another challenge. To help with this I purchased a GPS for my Nikons, so all my pictures are now geotagged. Another thing to remember is that runways are long and walking in 95 degree weather with a bunch of cameras around your neck isn't much fun!

However, the most time consuming part of scenery design is preparing the textures for SketchUp. For those of you who are unfamiliar with scenery design, X-Plane can only have ONE texture file per object so you have to be quite creative. On top of this, all pictures have to be straightened, fixed for parallax error, unwanted objects removed (like bushes) and finally the hue of each side of the building has to be matched so that it corresponds with the other sides. As for roofs, I can't take pictures of them, so I made my own texture library of "seamless" roofing materials.

When it comes to building dimensions, these can be pretty accurately measured using Google Earth. Dimensions of equipment usually seen at airports can be found on their manufacturers web site, so even though this is also time consuming, it's not too difficult.

Once you have all the relevant data, you're then ready to start in SketchUp.

Some people have called me a guru in SketchUp but the fact is, nobody ever really becomes a guru in SketchUp because there's usually a hundred different ways to achieve the same result.

When creating objects for use in sceneries it's vital to remember that the more polygons an object has, the more realistic the model will look, but on the flip side, the more polygons used, the harder the hit on frame rates. This is a real challenge for scenery designers as it's often hard to find the right balance.

Once these objects are created, they are then loaded into WED or Overlay Editor. These two programs are used for object placement and airport creation.

You know I still find it hard to believe that still, after all these years, these two tools are the only ones available for X-Plane! There are a ton of utilities for FSX so why can't we have the same? How can I say this politely so as not to offend the software industry...come on, WAKE UP!

Don't get me wrong, both WED and Overlay Editor are great packages, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, but a little variety wouldn't go amiss.

Marc, on behalf of FlightSim.Com, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to be interviewed. It was a real pleasure and from all of us at FlightSim.Com, we wish you all the best with future projects.

Marc Leydecker
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