This approach has a number of things going for it that benefit the flightgear community as well as someone new trying to become an active member of the community.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom there are currently way too many aircraft in a very incomplete state that need tons of work. By working on these less complete aircraft you help move the ball forward on that aircraft.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom for someone new to one of the best places to start is doing cockpit work. Since the learning curve is fairly steep (you need to learn a 3D modeling tool plus a lot of other stuff that has been mentioned in this thread) it is best to start with something very simple.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

One of the better approaches for a noob is to start out working on improving something that is already there but needs work. It limits the steepness of learning curve and allows you to actually get something done in the short term.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom this allows you to keep the frustration level down while learning how things work. Only a small % of aircraft development noobs who start a new aircraft without having done some previous work on another aircraft actually manage produce something worth while.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom it does happen but it is rare - the recent bonanza work by a noob is an example of one of these rare cases. A much larger % of those who start off doing smaller tasks on existing aircraft end up making a significant contribution either by doing smaller things to a lot of aircraft or by transforming an existing aircraft into something much better (the P-51D is an example of one of these) or after building a decent skill set doing their own aircraft from scratch.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

Things like placards, stream gauges or switches should be where you start. Adding placards is by far the simplest thing you can do for a cockpit and almost any aircraft you pick in FG git, even some very advanced models, will need at least one or more placards.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom placards also add a lot of cockpit detail for very little effort although for a rank beginner it will still take a significant amount of effort to get a placard modeled and textured and into a cockpit.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom these do not need animation or any interface to the property tree or any nasal code and only minimal XML. This helps reduce the steepness of the initial learning curve.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom after doing a few placards you can step up to steam gauges. These will require more extensive XML and also animation and interfaces to the property tree and perhaps even some nasal code and the 3D models will be more complex than that needed for placards.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom but the 3D models will not be very complex relatively speaking and you will be able to use existing models as a starting place since gauges are build to a set of standard sizes and external configurations at least in modern (IE.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom WWII and later) aircraft.

Almost any aircraft maintainer should be willing to mentor someone new to add things like placards and gauges to an exiting model.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom some will insist on very high standards for anything you do so please try to do quality work. But keep in mind that as a new contributor that the aircraft maintainer will likely spend more time helping you get up the learning curve than the amount of effort it would have taken them to do the same work themselves.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom so please do enough work on that aircraft to reach at least the break even point for the mentoring effort. Also keep in mind that an aircraft maintainer would prefer that new contributors coordinate with them to prevent duplication of effort and to make integrating the contribution into the aircraft easier.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

I also think it is important to work on an aircraft that you have some passion for. This is tedious, detailed, time consuming work that requires a level of dedication to overcome the hurdles involved.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom if you don't have a certain level of passion for what you are doing you will not persevere. On the other hand doing this work will result in learning a lot about a wide range of things (3D modeling, how to research things, animation, 2D graphics, flightgear, nasal...) and if you persevere you will find this very rewarding.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

One thing that is coming is a better aircraft manager, which will allow aircraft to state their compatibility, so the GUI won't (by default of course) show you aircraft that don't work with your FG version.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom the problem then is getting more people to maintain aircraft and at least test them + tag them when a new version is being tested. Usually fixing an aircraft is < 1 hour work, with some help, but people are very reluctant to do it.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom maybe we need an 'adopt an aircraft' for the unmaintained ones.

Probably the easiest way to get a new aircraft going is to find another (similar) jsbsim/yasim aircraft that is similar to yours and look at how it is setup.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom even easier would be to copy that models configuration and then start making modifications to suit your aircraft. JSBSim can be complex depending on how advanced your aircraft is but using the copy and modify approach will allow you to get started and give you a platform to learn new stuff as you make modifications to the configuration.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

• the flight dynamics model (FDM): this tells the computer how your aircraft reacts to various conditions. The FDM is composed of two main models most people use, either jsbsim or yasim.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom or the lesser used model UIUC. Define the dimensions, mass-and-balance data. Tell flightgear which part of your aircraft and where it may hit the ground.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom where the gear is, if and how it travels. How it is propelled and how it flies if you move the controls. A subarea of the FDM are integral systems like the autopilot and fuel systems.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

• 3-dimensional model and all of its visual aspects: animations (these give visual feedback from your FDM. Move the aileron of your 3D model when the aileron control is moved.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom same for the other aero surfaces, the gear. Than go ahead with the instruments, animate the needles, the digital readouts. Define hot spots and pick animations, so you can click in your 3D cockpit.), lighting and textures (images that are put in specific locations on the 3D model).Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

There are lots of flightgear aircraft that need cockpit work. This requires both artistic (create 3D models and textures...) and technical abilities (create XML, perhaps even nasal scripts and gathering information of the thing being modeled).Cognitive learning theory in the classroom this is also one area were your work is very visible to every day flightgear users and this makes this effort one that has a major impact of the apparent quality of flightgear.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

• contact that person and ask them if it is OK to work on that aircraft. They will probably say OK but they will also probably say that you have to work in a certain way and they may go as far as saying OK but I want you to work on .Cognitive learning theory in the classroom don't take this as a snub. The aircraft dev has put a lot of effort into this aircraft and in the end they have to live with whatever you do to it so you have an obligation to do things their way.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

• please note that we use spaces in our codes, some developers use rather tabs, to make our code easy(er) to read. Every line that starts a new tag, we press the space key once, so you get a kind of stairs.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom it does not really matter what method you use, as long as you use it consistently throughout all of your files. But XML files that are used by jsbsim fdms must use spaces and not tabs.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

The data created during development results in many files, which are stored in several directories per aircraft. Each aircraft has its own directory in the $FG_ROOT/aircraft/ directory.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom the first thing to do when you start working on a new aircraft is to make a directory for it. A short version of the aircraft name (eg. Harrier), or its serial number (eg. 747-400) is prefered.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom more directories might be needed further on, but we will create them when we need them. They are explained in this article, but you can skip them if you are working on your first aircraft.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom for now we create one directory, namely:

It's worth noting that flightgear doesn't expect any particular structure of folders or files, i.E. You could theoretically put things ANYWHERE, as long as you properly reference all files and paths in the top-level aircraft-set.Xml file.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom however, it makes sense to follow some existing conventions (look at other well-maintained aircraft). Some more tips can be found here: standard aircraft structure (needs to be updated as of 05/2012).Cognitive learning theory in the classroom A more recent discussion covering the pros & cons of the various approaches is to be found on the forum.

This directory contains all model related files; such as textures, models and animation files (.Xml).Cognitive learning theory in the classroom in the -set.Xml file we've set the path to one .Xml file. That file should link (indirect) to each other model file (including a possible 3D cockpit) needed for the plane.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom the whole plane could be modeled into one file, but most developers prefer to split things up. A cockpit for example can be built up by several files, each existing of just one instrument or panel.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom this way it is easy to (re)move certain parts of the aircraft. You set up your model file like this:

But then you need to setup properties in the property tree, set up animation for the switch and then hook the device controlled by the switch up to the property tree, make the device function and so on.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom so the "programming" part will dominate for this type of thing. Also for some things the animation code can become fairly complex and there's one device in the P-51D cockpit that has over 500 lines of nasal and XML just for animation.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom but most things only need a few lines of XML.

But the "programming" effort will be about the same as the switch in the previous example.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom so the modeling effort will dominate. You will also need to create some custom steam gauges and it is typical to need at least an aircraft specific air speed gauge and an engine cluster that are specific to the aircraft.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom for these find some other gauge that is close and create a new texture for the face and tweak on the animation code and you are done. Still the texture work for these gauges can take some time and effort.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom for a lot of your gauges you should be able to find one either in aircraft/instruments3d or in an existing aircraft that you can use with minimal modification.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

What really takes time here is that there is so many little details that make up the cockpit. Dozens of switches, a bunch of steam gauges, radios, various controls...Cognitive learning theory in the classroom and each one takes time to model, position, animate and hook into the systems they control. And on top of that to really do this right you need to model things like the inside structure of the cabin, the seats, rudder pedals, yoke/stick, the panel, the panel shroud and so on.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom in other words there is just lots of stuff that needs to be done to make a really nice cockpit and because the pilot is sitting right in the middle of all of it and is fairly close to everything it needs to be well done to not look like crap.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom