An SF2 Utility Idea - A flight model and E-M Diagram comparison generator.

[KJakker 875]

An idea occurred to me regarding a possible new utility for SF2. The idea is first for a utility that can look at the aircraft data file of any installed aircraft in your mod folder and analyse its flight model and display the selected aircraft's flight characteristics. Second, give the utility the ability to compare and contrast the flight characteristics of multiple aircraft, say up to six different aircraft at a time. Third would be to give the utility the ability to generate all of the different types of E-M diagrams for the selected aircraft and be able to overlay them for comparison purposes. Fourth give it the ability to save the data and charts to TXT and JPG file as necessary.

 

I know there is a less sophisticated flight model tool for FE2 but when I looked I did not see such a tool for SF2. I think such a tool would be useful for comparing how the various aircraft preform against each other as modeled in the game versus how we know the real world aircraft fly. On the one hand it would also be a great tool for our flight model people who could use it to easily compare the simulated aircraft data with the real data in the manuals and on the other it would be of great help for the people in the DACT thread in analyzing the aircraft they are pitting against each other.

 

I don't have any programming experience but want to ask the CA SF2 community if anyone else is interested in such a tool if it is possible to do?

 

Edit: Spelling corrections.

Edited January 2, 2016 by KJakker

[Fubar512 1,350]

There was such a tool for early SF1 patch levels, which Streakeagle created.  Unfortunately, updating it appears to have been overly time-consuming. The addition of various stall and downwash parameters, coupled with TKs almost constant tweaking of the game physics would have made this an elusive target just a few years ago.  Now that TK's all but abandoned the series, the creation of an app that allows one to graph the flight envelope is once again feasible. Of course, this may spur him on to further develop the series, out of spite 

 

For years we have been making due with little more than Kreelin's Aeroconvert, and an app penned up by Abacus for MSFS, CLcalc.

Edited January 2, 2016 by Fubar512

[Do335 382]

For noobs like me that don't know what were the tools you mentioned (:D)

 

FE's FmTool by p10ppy

http://combatace.com/files/file/4759-fmtool/

 

Kreelin's Aeoconvert

http://combatace.com/files/file/4932-aeoconvert/

 

 

A E-M doghouse plotter/compare program or something like that would be the ultimate FM proggy I reckon.

 

PS the other day was also thinking of a campaign save file editor, like switching planes and squadrons in a campaign save so you can fly different planes in the same campaign..

Edited January 2, 2016 by Do335

[+VonS 1,423]

A great idea. I'd like to see such a utility for FE2 (but I'm sure the SF2 version would work fine for FE2), maybe also that it allow for tweaking/modification of different aspects of the flight model - and with the ability to "save" the modifications. It would certainly simplify the process of editing flight models (currently a time-consuming process that requires direct tampering with the data ini files, several times over, before going on to the next data ini file).

 

Happy flying,

Von S

 

P.S. Thanks Do335 for the links above - will check them out.

Edited January 2, 2016 by tzhitor

[DaniloE31 279]

I fully agree. While fiddling with various FM, I was always thinking how usefull such a tool would be!
 

...
On the one hand it would also be a great tool for our flight model people who could use it to easily compare the simulated aircraft data with the real data in the manuals and on the other it would be of great help for the people in the DACT thread in analyzing the aircraft they are pitting against each other.

 

...

 

[+Cliff7600 1,120]

"??? Obviously, I don't understand   "

 

...is what I feel when I read this thread.

 

I do understand, but I don't recognise the thing I do. Not at all.

And it's pretty fun in fact, because when you will have such an utility, I(hope I)'ll still be doing my thing in my corner (I know I already share nothing xD )

 

In short, that's not how I do flight models, or it's that I don't do flight models   Interesting thought, considering how further and further I get from the stock data.ini files...

(Have tou ever consider to invert the AOA indexers of your favorite F-4 (not the lastest Ravenclaw's) ? Have you ever try to set the "SpringFactor=0.0005" of your favorite F-4's nose landing gear ? etc...)

 

I hope you'll get your utility, and then you'll have to choose between that and that.

It would not give you the answer, it will bring another question.

But that would still be fun of course :^)

 

Edit :

...this type of thing   CD0MachTableData=1.709,1.133,1.000,0.938

F... physics !!!

Edited January 5, 2016 by Cliff7600