Development

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

Back in the seventies, I was working for a USA semiconductor manufacture who had a base in "Silicon Glen", in central Scotland. As I was passing a desk one day, I saw an engineer was "flying" a very simple airplane model over a "wire frame" landscape on his PC (the naughty boy should have been working!) I was intrigued by this and found out it was a very early flight simulator, by subLOGIC. Anyway, that was me "hooked" and I stayed with MSFS all the way to FS2004, but didn't go as far as FSX. When I heard that Microsoft were withdrawing their support for the continuation of the Flight Simulator franchise, I looked elsewhere and found X-Plane. I have never looked back! And shortly after "joining" X-Plane, I started my development work.

Tell us about the nature of your designs and what you do?

I am a scenery developer (plus occasional aircraft livery developer). One of the differences between MSFS and X-Plane was that in X-Plane (and this continues to be the default case), airports are "populated" with ramps and taxiways, but, in many cases, they have no auto generated buildings. This, in common with many other "X-Planers" distracted (annoyed?) me, and I decide to investigate how I could "populate" my favorite airfields. Most of my early work consisted of conversions of MSFS scenery, always, importantly, with the permission of the original author, using Marginal's clever FS2Xplane.

I then started making my own work, using, for the most part, the tools mentioned below. These are easy to use, especially as one gains experience, and allow those who are interested in making highly credible and visually attractive sceneries. I am not skilled in 3D design, and therefore have to use the available objects (found in X-Plane's numerous object libraries) which are as close as possible to the "real thing". But, if I say so myself, the results are usually pleasing, and in my opinion are much better than an "empty" airport.

What do you consider your best or most popular work?

Difficult to say. "Different strokes for different folks". I love flying (when I get the time!) in visually attractive areas of the world, so the ones that I might think are my best might not be the ones that, for instance, "heavy metal" fans would consider to be their favorite. As long as I am happy about the project myself, then hopefully I can also please others!

What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of a project?

Gathering information! As I mentioned above, I am not skilled in building 3D objects, so the more information I can gather about the project, the more I can replicate the "real thing" with scenery objects. Therefore a search for photographs is a standard procedure, as is gathering airport information from the likes of www.airnav.com and the European AIS Database at http://www.ead.eurocontrol.int/eadcms/eadsite/index.php.html. I will almost always use aerial photographs, overlaid on the scenery projects, to position aprons, taxiways and buildings. And, always check the runway end positions are correct!

What have been your favorite projects?

I like making an airfield look as "real" as possible, especially when taxiing in or out, so adding static aircraft, vehicles and proper ATC taxiing routes is always satisfying. As far as actual projects are concerned, again my favorites would probably be those in areas where I like to fly VFR, like Scotland, Alaska, Washington State and New Zealand. But doing a large, busy airport like EGNT, Newcastle and NZCH Christchurch is also satisfying, especially when I see all the elements come together. You might start off saying "I'll keep this simple", but before you know it, you're adding more signs, or ground markings, or "grunge", ground traffic etc.!

What software packages and tools do you use to develop?

For the most part, I use the WorldEditor tool (WED) at http://developer.x-plane.com/tools/worldeditor/ and Marginal's superb Overlay Editor, again found at the aforementioned link to his scenery tools. These two tools can now work more or less interchangeably and are both very powerful tools for scenery creation. Used in conjunction with the many excellent libraries of scenery objects available for X-Plane (including the default libraries contained within X-Plane 10), it is becoming possible for even inexperienced scenery designers to create excellent scenery packages.

Who would you consider to be your mentors or inspiration in the development world if you have any?

I really only started creating scenery for my own purposes, but later on decided to share my work with my fellow flight simmers. I consider myself to be adequate in scenery creation, but continue to be in awe of those developers who are skilled in 3D creation and who freely contribute some stunning creations in the X-Plane world, a prime example being "Cami de Bellis" and in the field of producing superb scenery using only default scenery objects (hence small file size) there are quite a few inspirations out there, for example, I am sure that many X-Plane users admire and appreciate the wonderful Brazilian airports of "joz". Joz and others are an inspiration for me to continue to improve my offerings!

Do you develop payware/freeware or both and why?

Only freeware. My work is for my own and others enjoyment.

The Team

How many people work with you or your team?

I work on my own. I have however, developed many friendships through X-Plane over the years and my friends and I sometimes bounce ideas off each other, or make requests to upgrade each others work in some way or another.

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

One of my longest standing friendships over my years in X-Plane has been with "joyfulsongster", AKA Jeff Mueller. Jeff develops both freeware and payware scenery and is an extremely skilled 3D modeller. Over the years we have shared our joy (and frustrations) with X-Plane and I would like to acknowledge his friendship and support over a lengthy period of time!

Real Life

Do you have any experience in real aviation?

The closest experience I have to real aviation is that my nephew is a part owner of Cessna Skylane G-WIFE (there is a livery for this aircraft on FlightSim.Com) and occasionally I will fly with him in this aircraft.

What started your interest in aviation?

Cut-away drawings in the comic for boys in "The Eagle" (UK) and, when I was older, I was a subscriber to "Flight" magazine and "Fly Past". Kind of strange, since I always wanted to go to sea and became a Radio Officer in the Merchant Navy!

Any memorable flights in real life?

(a) Flying over the snowbound Grampian Mountains in G-WIFE and then holding over the Forth Bridges awaiting permission to overfly EGPH Edinburgh. (b) My first ever flight, in a Flugfelag Islands Vickers Viscount from Glasgow Renfrew (now under a housing estate!) to Reykjavik, Iceland. (c) A twenty seven hour flight in a BOAC 707 from London to Kai Tak to join a ship. Stops at Rome, Beirut, Bahrain, Karachi, Bombay, and Bangkok. Totally exhausting, but the approach into Kai Tak was worth it, absolutely unforgettable.

Would you like to share what you do in real life?

I am a retired Engineering Manager (hence time to develop flight sim scenery!). As mentioned above, I started my working career in the British Merchant Navy and then went on to work in a nuclear power station before spending the greater part of my working life in the semiconductor manufacturing industry.

What other hobbies or things do you do for enjoyment?

I'm married, and enjoy cooking for my wife and friends. I have a Ham Radio license, my callsign is GM0ERT, although I am rarely "QRV" as hams would say. Fly fishing is a pleasant recreation, and I like tying my own flies. Golf is another pastime, although I don't play as much as I used to. I have a Springer Spaniel bitch called Jess, who requires lots of exercise and, finally, I have a rather elderly motorhome in which we enjoy the delights of the British Isles, and hopefully, this year, the south of France!

Have you ever considered doing flight simulator development full-time?

Not really. I am still fit enough at nearly 70 to enjoy being active and whilst that lasts I would not like to commit all of my time to flight simulator development (my wife probably thinks I devote far too much time already!). However, I honestly believe that the technical challenge of both the sim itself, and the challenge of designing and building credible scenery is an excellent way of keeping the old brain active in retirement!

Future

How do you choose your next new design or project?

It usually chooses me! I'll fly into somewhere and think "Hey, this could do with some scenery", and away I go! Occasionally, (like the day I was writing this!) I'll get a request from someone to make a scenery for a particular airport, and, if practical and I have the time, I will usually accede to that request. Or sometimes I download a scenery for X-Plane and think, "This could do with some work", maybe statics or ATC routes and I'll add these for my own enjoyment.

What simulators do you design for now and what ones do you plan to develop for in the future?

Only X-Plane. These days, it is usually XP10 as it has such a good in-built library of objects, but, if practical I will make a scenery that can also be used in XP9.

In what ways do you see development changing in the future?

I think the development of scenery has a bright future. I have noticed that it is becoming easier to make really good scenery with the tools and libraries now available, and 3D creation now has programs like Google's "SketchUp" which might encourage people to explore 3D modelling. I'm not so sure about aircraft. Maybe I could be wrong, but the future seems not so bright for freeware aircraft as simmers get used to, and want, more and more "real life" and complex systems.

Your Thoughts

What can sites like FlightSim.Com do to support you and the hobby better?

I used FlightSim.Com for many years whilst I was an "MSFS" man, and have found myself back using the site more often in the last year; maybe because X-Plane is starting to attract more and more people over from MSFS. I have always found it an easy to use site with a "professional" attitude. If there was one thing I would say to the various sites on the subject of support, it would be to remind themselves that the future of the hobby lies with the "newbies" and allowances should be made when they make mistakes. I have seen, not necessarily on FlightSim.Com, a few "put down" comments from moderators that would certainly have put me off, had I not developed a thick skin in industry (plus spent my precious Scottish pounds!).

How do you feel about the future of flight simulation in general?

That's a hard one. I don't have the sales figures or sales trends that would allow me to make an informed answer to the question. A few years ago I would have said the future was bright, but then Microsoft goes and shuts down the most successful flight sim franchise to date. So, who knows?

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

Encourage more people into development with easy access to, and the publicizing of, the tools necessary to develop aircraft or scenery. Encourage the generation of, and the publicizing of, tutorials regarding development.

What would you like people to know about you and your work?

I started all of my "stuff" because I didn't like "empty airports". I was inquisitive about how to change that. I don't consider myself talented when compared to some of my colleagues, but here I am doing an interview for the #1 flight sim site in the world! I am sometimes frustrated that more people don't just grab the mettle and have a go themselves. IT'S NOT THAT DIFFICULT, especially regarding scenery; especially with the tools and object libraries that are available.

Finally, I would like to finish with some words I received today from yet another friend I have made via X-Plane, "Kiwiflyer" and I trust he won't mind me quoting him, because it sums up our hobby so nicely:

"X-Plane gets under your skin, I can so relate to your words. Some days I think I'll go on some lazy flight to somewhere remote, and before I know it, I'm delving into the depths of texture files, or following multiple links on X-Plane subjects I'd never have dreamed of. One thing's for sure... every day is a learning day and I'm so excited about the possibilities that lie ahead."

I couldn't have said it better myself!

Thanks to all concerned at FlightSim.Com for inviting me to give this interview, and sincere greetings to all you flight simmers out there.

Blue side up!

Robin Tannahill
robin.tannahill@talktalk.net
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