Jan 4, 2005, 4:17 AM
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Canopy Simulator?
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Does anyone know of a computer canopy simulator? Perhaps something like Microsoft's Flight Simulator, only a canopy instead? Or, know of anyone who might have one in the works?
me too. the problem with the paraglider is that the physics for how it flies and what level of control you have is very limited. additionally, it flies really slow.
Flight Simulators are excellent tools for teaching and keeping oneself up to date with Instrument Flight Rule techiniques. But a flight simulator will NOT teach you how to land. So I'm not sure what a canopy flight simulator will do for you since IFR flight is not feasible under canopies.
I don't know. I got the opportunity last year to fly a T6 Texan at an airshow for about 20 minutes. Of course, I did not land; however all the years of playing flight simulators certainly made it easier for me to fly the WWII plane as I had "trained" for so long on a simulator prior.
I think FS2004 is good for teaching the various systems on planes work and give you an understanding of flight planning and procedures but when it comes to the the physics and the 'feel' of the flight engine then it is very sub-par when compared to the real thing.
There are other FS out there which are meant to be a LOT better in terms of the actual physics and flight handling of the planes (such as xplane)
look up microflight or hangsim (same game) there are free demos available for download.it seems realistic enough to me, but I haven't flown anything other than airplanes and gliders so I can't offer you an informed opinion about canopy flying in that game.
(This post was edited by helldiver on Jan 6, 2005, 10:43 PM)
I used this B.A.S.E. Jumping Simulator for months before I actually started skydiving. The physics certainly aren't perfect, but he is still developing it and this game taught me how to find the "spot" that everyone speaks about. (the spot that doesn't move.)
Thanks. For some reason it doesn't work on my comp, but I'll try to get it working and take a look.
My ultimate goal is to make a sim with realistic canopy flight model.
I definitely know that it's possible and I approximately know how. Anything that can be described with math and logic, can be programmed.
Canopy is not too complicated system, and for now I'm planning to make toggle inputs model only. These days we have a very powerful tools, so anything you can imagine can be done.
The thing is I am no programmer. I'm an aircraft engineer. I know aerodynamics and can model almost anything in 3d. So I need programmer help for actual coding.
So far I see this as non-commercial open project. At minimum this will be fun, at maximum - can be useful for AFF students for landing pattern training with their actual dropzone landmarks and in different wind conditions.
It's a great game. Taught me how to swoop a Velo 78
...on the serious note: it's probably the best free canopy/freefall simulator there is at the moment. It has winds, speed, malfunctions and rain which all will affect your flight and landing path.
But don't get overconfident thinking you'll get any better at the real thing
