[WIP] Silantro Flight Simulator

Oyedoyin
Sat, 06 Jan 2024 14:56:51 +0000
Programming & Scripting

Hi Everyone, currently working on a flight simulation plugin. The system will provide tools needed to build simulation models of both fixed and rotary-wing (helicopter) aircraft to very accurate levels.

The wings and rotors will use variations of the blade-element theory, where the components are divided into panels, and the force and moment generated by each are computed and applied to the aircraft. This makes the setup process very easy as all that is required for the component setup is a properly scaled 3D model of the aircraft.

The airfoils can be made using Javafoil, option will be available to set different airfoils for the root and tip of each component which will then be used to interpolate the aerodynamic coefficients at each panel.

The piston and turbine engines are all based on thermodynamic principles and can be configured using publicly available data. Sample demo test: https://youtu.be/gT61Y9XAlu8
Normal speed setup if anyone is interested: https://youtu.be/giN5Z9QSF8E

A version of both systems already exists for the Unity3D engine; here are sample setup videos for each to get an idea of what the setup procedure entails.
1: Fixed-wing: https://youtu.be/riUq4W08RdM
2: Rotary wing: https://youtu.be/qoyW-9yJEas

Apart from some slight changes (due to the peculiarities of the Unreal inspector), the setup procedure should be almost the same. If you already have the Unity version, you will be able to export/import your existing aircraft setup via a JSON transfer system.

I will be posting more development updates in the coming weeks

16 posts - 11 participants