Attach objects to aircraft

Hi everyone,

I'd like to attach objects to aircraft like a vehicle into a C130 but I don't know how to set the position... I can use trigonometry and find the lat,long,alt position but I'm sure it's not precise...

Is there a possibility to attach it by relative position from the aircraft?

by doing a slew?

Doing a slew of what?

Is this about GSX?

Yes, it woks with the same way I think

To find out where to place things like a door (so gsx can attach a jetway there), place cm extra light in your plane.

In the aircraft.cfg file,

in the lights section,

add an extra light and adjust the coordinates to the correct spot.

Then adjust the door position to the same spot.

MAKE A BACKUP of the aircraft.cfg file before you start!

(in case things in wrong).

This is a thread about how to move the coordinates. (up/down, etc)

https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?256419-FSX-Co-Ordinates-for-smoke

The door position is also in the aircraft.cfg file. In the:

[Exits]

section.

Btw, this only adjusts where the jetway attaches. (and perhaps irw catering trucks and such.). These trucks, etc, are separate from the aircraft model, and are only there when you have gsx.

it does not change the actual moving doors of the model. You can not change the actual model in any way. (Only the original designer of the aircraft model can. The original designer is the only one win has the required original files.).

The [Exit] section determines where the default jetway and cargo trucks drive to.

Yes, coordinates. In relation to the "reference_datum_position=" of the aircraft.

Where the GSX trucks attach is probably managed differently.

Eplain!

Why do you want to change something?

in what plane?

Are you adding something that another plane does have, but this one does not?

If you don't explain exactly what you are doing it's difficult to help.

Also, read this thread, it explains a lot of things:

http://ultimatetraffic.flight1.net/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=2962&title=door-settings

This one is a bit sparse on exits, but shows a lot of other stuff:

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc526949.aspx#mozTocId310622

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your title "Attach ojects to" sounds like you want to edit the aircraft model. That is not possible.

So aircraft (Posky, etc) have cater ing trucks that are part of te aircraft model. They appear when pressing a button on a 2D panel.

You can not add that functionality to an aircraft later.

GSX can make catering trucks appear, but those are not "part of the object". (NOt "attached" the same way the posky stuff is.)

Yes, I know all of that...

I don't want to change the model, I want to add a model in the sim, while flying, when I push a button BUT, this new model has to "follow" the aircraft...

Imagine a car in a C130, I set a relative position but with the SimConnect, I don't know how to set the position with this relative position...

Jetways have to work as the same way I think because it goes to the relative point seted in the .cfg...

you wnat a car to drive after your aircraft?

Is this sort of what you were thinking about?

https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?301128-Testing-large-formations-in-AITX

1) You do not want to change the 3D model of an aircraft which you want to use to "transport" a 3D model of a vehicle.

2) You want a 3D model of a vehicle to drive up to an aircraft, disappear within it, remain invisible when the aircraft leaves the loading position and reappear when you unload the vehicle at another location.

Not possible.

Why:

3D models which are not part of the aircraft model have no physical relationship to each other except under limited conditions such as utility trucks which can intercept specific contact points defined in the truck and the aircraft. The cargo/refuel truck is then controlled by limited AI rules in the sim so they park next to each other at defined locations and angles.

The sim code which allows items like drop tanks to attach and detach to aircraft are part of the 3D model of the aircraft and special animation is coded to make these objects (bombs, parachutes and missiles are simulated this way) attach and detach convincingly.

While 3D modeling is challenging, if you wanted to, you can design your own 3D models to do what you want, but you cannot redesign someone's model without their source code. FS is not designed to plug models together like Orbiter can when 3D modelers code to special rules.

-Pv-

The thing is, planes and such are single object models. (outside model).

The only model you can add in fsx is a VC.

You can't make a model (outside, plane) consist of several separate pieces.

That means you can't make a plane "explode" in a crash, with pieces flying every which way.

It just stays one and he same object.

The way posky did what they did is they have a large model. With a plane, its flaps (that move), a pushback truck (that can move just like a flap can.), several catering trucks, stairs, and baggage trucks.

The carts and stairs are hidden/shown by showing different textures. (And using transparency in the texturess and models.)

WHen you push a button on the panel, different textures are laid on the cart, and it suddenly shows, but it has been there all along.

It is not a separate model of a cart that is suddenly loaded.

The cart is part of the main model.

ANd was made as one model, by the original designer.

As said, you can't change models that someone else made.

What you could do is make your own c130 from scratch, with a car already behind it, plane and car as one model. Car with transparency set right, and correct textures. And create the button to make the car appear and disappear.

THen compile that to create your own model.

What AItrackerX does, the app that lorbySI made, is to add anothere separate object behind any plane. THis other separate object is a separate model that appears as AI.

It is probably positioned in relation to the geographical location of the user plane. (The coordinates that you can always see in your MAP view in FSX.)

Yes, I know all of that...

I don't want to change the model, I want to add a model in the sim, while flying, when I push a button BUT, this new model has to "follow" the aircraft...

Imagine a car in a C130, I set a relative position but with the SimConnect, I don't know how to set the position with this relative position...

Jetways have to work as the same way I think because it goes to the relative point seted in the .cfg...

With FSX this is a lot of work with mediocre results, The math how to calculate a lat/lon position relative to another one is out there, and it is not that hard. A couple of hours of Google and pen and paper.

I have implemented logic like this in two of my products, and I can tell you that you won't be able to attach an object in a fixed position. It will wander around and it will stutter a lot. You will have to use predictive positioning, because there are time lags in the internal processing of the sim.

With P3D instead this is a piece of cake, as P3D SimConnect has the necessary functions, starting as early as version 2.

But you know all that already, from your similar thread in the other forum, right? I have spent about 200 hours on the FSX logic, and I have been writing software for 35 years. I don't know your skill level, but you should estimate at least about the same effort.

"The only model you can add in fsx is a VC."

Virtual cockpits are part of the original 3D model so you cannot "add" them to a model you don't have the source code for since they are essentially "bulkheads" but under the right conditions, you can add/remove panel gauges to/from an existing VC bulkhead.

2D panels however can be added to any aircraft.

The idea you propose of using an aircraft AI in the shape of a vehicle which follows your aircraft around is a plausible solution although messy because AI aircraft control is likely not precise enough to entirely prevent artifacts when the intent is to keep these models perfectly aligned all the time. Lots of XML or C code would be involved with that.

-Pv-

Hi pvarn,

you are certainly right about FS9 aircraft, they either have a VC or do not.

FSX aircraft often have a separate external model and internal model. Most default fsx aircraft are like that.

I prefer the 737's range, but I don't like the VC all that much.

I did a "merge" and now my 737 has the 747 VC.

I find those displays much calmer on the eyes.

I didn't mean you could edit the model in any way.

But in a way a merge is a way to make fsx display two models together.

You are completely correct that you can not determint the position the VC appears in. ("position it")

It either works, or doesn't.

Often if you try this the VC shows up in such a weird position (50ft/25m in front of and 5m next to the plane outside model) that taxiing and parking becomes impossible.

Sitting in the VC it looks like you parked at the gate. But looking in outside view you see that the plane is actually still 25m away.

Sometimes it nearly fits. But nowt very often.

--

A VC that does fit very nicely is the FSDN VC that you can find on Flyawaysimulation.

There is one for the default fsx 737 and one for the default fsx 747. These were made specifically for these planes.

you wnat a car to drive after your aircraft?

Is this sort of what you were thinking about?

https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?301128-Testing-large-formations-in-AITX

Yes, that's it!

But you know all that already, from your similar thread in the other forum, right? I have spent about 200 hours on the FSX logic, and I have been writing software for 35 years. I don't know your skill level, but you should estimate at least about the same effort.

That's right, I send the thread on 3 forums at the same time

I've only 4years of development with py and one with c/cpp...

Of course, I was well thinking that the program will have lags if I do that, it's why I asked an other solution (if there is one) to not waste a lot of time of work and calcul...

So you saw my avsim thread, you saw the replies too?! I think I've a possible way to make it possible but it's game hacking technic and I know I don't have the necessary experience...

But if do you place ai aircrafts formation during the init? In flight, I think that the "velocity body x/y/z" sim var will be the best to do that, I imagine you use this way? Right, provide the position could do that better, this is a bit more work but better than a direct position calcul... This way is for always "visible" objects like missiles because if it's a vehicle into the airplane, precision isn't really important. But my greatest problem is to init the first pos...

I'm thinking about a vehicle font of the aircraft parking position.