gospadin Beta Tester

Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: 'Murica Posts: 1,948

Community A-4E: November 2017 Update Community A-4E: November 2017 Update



So, not much to report this month. A lot of small 3D/2D changes are being made, but since we have multiple artists working together and sharing the work, the pipeline isn't the most efficient. We just aren't quite ready to share any of the new images just yet.



Code wise, building upon a debug interface first created last year, we added dynamic logging of certain flight parameters. While in the past we could tune some of our systems live while flying, having a data feed we can import to excel allows for offline analysis of dynamic conditions in a way that is hard to "see" and address live.



This infrastructure is flight model independent, but for now we're using it to tune the SFM, and I thought I would post just one simple example.



The following plot was our first use of this logging, prior to tuning any flight coefficients. We have are 3 datasets which plot lifting force in terms of load factor * gross weight in 1000s of pounds on the Y axis, and mach number along the X axis. These were (are?) the units for NATOPS maneuverability plots from that era.

Orange squares are the design maximum lift.

Grey triangles represent the projected buffet onset.

Blue diamonds are measured datapoints from our SFM.





As you can see, maneuverability between mach 0.3 and mach 0.5 is pretty close to accurate. Above mach 0.5, our model essentially splits the difference between buffer onset and absolute lift capability. Additionally, it's obvious we haven't implemented a lift-force limit yet, given the higher lifting force possible beyond the airframe's design limit at higher speeds.



It isn't obvious (yet) whether this is a function of the test environment used for the wind tunnel data we referenced, or whether we interpreted some of it incorrectly, or whether the NATOPS estimates have errors in this regime, but we'll sort it out.





Oh, and since we know a lot of people wish we would release this mod sooner rather than later, the team thought we could better explain our progress graphically:







As you can see, lack of progress isn't our fault.



Thanks again for everyone's support!

--gos So, not much to report this month. A lot of small 3D/2D changes are being made, but since we have multiple artists working together and sharing the work, the pipeline isn't the most efficient. We just aren't quite ready to share any of the new images just yet.Code wise, building upon a debug interface first created last year, we added dynamic logging of certain flight parameters. While in the past we could tune some of our systems live while flying, having a data feed we can import to excel allows for offline analysis of dynamic conditions in a way that is hard to "see" and address live.This infrastructure is flight model independent, but for now we're using it to tune the SFM, and I thought I would post just one simple example.The following plot was our first use of this logging, prior to tuning any flight coefficients. We have are 3 datasets which plot lifting force in terms of load factor * gross weight in 1000s of pounds on the Y axis, and mach number along the X axis. These were (are?) the units for NATOPS maneuverability plots from that era.As you can see, maneuverability between mach 0.3 and mach 0.5 is pretty close to accurate. Above mach 0.5, our model essentially splits the difference between buffer onset and absolute lift capability. Additionally, it's obvious we haven't implemented a lift-force limit yet, given the higher lifting force possible beyond the airframe's design limit at higher speeds.It isn't obvious (yet) whether this is a function of the test environment used for the wind tunnel data we referenced, or whether we interpreted some of it incorrectly, or whether the NATOPS estimates have errors in this regime, but we'll sort it out.Oh, and since we know a lot of people wish we would release this mod sooner rather than later, the team thought we could better explain our progress graphically:As you can see, lack of progress isn't our fault.Thanks again for everyone's support!--gos

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M-2000C English Cockpit | Extra Beacons Mod | Nav Kneeboard | Community A-4E __________________ Last edited by gospadin; 11-30-2017 at 07:46 PM .