AoA dependent flaps control

[Foiter]

Hello,

I'm building automatic flaps control module which main function is to adjust the angles of both leading and trailing edge flaps depending on the aircraft's indicated angle of attack. It is similar to automatic flap control system that we have on F-18C when maneuvering_flaps is set to 1 with certain extensions to cover specific aircraft's behavior.

I'm setting four variables:
"LEADING EDGE FLAPS LEFT PERCENT"
"LEADING EDGE FLAPS RIGHT PERCENT"
"TRAILING EDGE FLAPS LEFT PERCENT"
"TRAILING EDGE FLAPS RIGHT PERCENT"
to control flaps angles.

The problem is FSX sim immediately resets the angles to the values consistent with "FLAPS HANDLE INDEX"/"FLAPS HANDLE PERCENT". It looks like the only way to set flaps permanently is to set "FLAPS HANDLE INDEX" variable. But this is not what the flaps control system normally does since it's responsible for the smooth behavior where the flap angle is a function of aircraft's angle of attack.

Setting maneuvering_flaps to 0 or 1 does not change behavior.

Is there any way to tell FSX sim to ignore the state of "FLAPS HANDLE INDEX"/"FLAPS HANDLE PERCENT" while directly setting the flap percent variables?

 

[ziporama]

Not sure about these, but for some variables or settings that are set via Simconnect (or panel variables for that matter), you need to continuously "re"set or override the values computed by the simulator.

I'm not sure if this technique will work with flaps, but you may try to set the values at every frame or so and see if the behavior changes.

Hope this helps,

Etienne

 

[Foiter]

Hi Etienne,

It certainly does and I've been practising this technique with SimConnect for as long as I can remember. The control modules I've been working with do set FS variables nearly every frame. I tune the threads with Sleep function, but as far as I can see I'm not able to override fast enough with no regard how short sleep intervals I use and going below 50ms significanlty impacts overall FS perfomance. So I doubt that it makes sense to use flaps percent variables although in theory it is the only reasonable way.

SimConnect definitely lacks certain control variables that would make third-parties more efficient in overall sim control. Up to now we're just fighting with FS when it gets to some critical variables. I'm sure the Flight Sim is not supposed to behave like that, and I hope future versions of ESP are going to show more friendliness concerning side-by-side operation with in-proc add-ons.

 

[beatle]

Hey Foiter,

You did hear about ACES studio being shutdown, meaning no future ESP versions, right?

Tim

 

[ziporama]

Dang Tim, we can all have dreams... this is virtual reality isn't it?

Etienne

 

[Foiter]

Hey Foiter,

You did hear about ACES studio being shutdown, meaning no future ESP versions, right?

Tim

Hi Tim... I do read news, and I can good imagine what you guys went through last months. I just... I just can't f****** believe the Microsoft has so easy decided to turn their a** against the whole community... but this is what usually happens when the share holder takes up the front seat.

Well, it's been enough questioned and said on this topic already, although to me the future of ESP is still uncertain as long as Microsoft declines to officially comment on it. I don't know how many of you are left in the company, I can only say if Microsoft eventually decides to resurect ESP it will be very... very hard to build up a new team capable of what the lost team did. As far as I can see there are tones of undocumented stuff that will just perish with those who are gone and I'm sure Austin Meyer undoubtly will make best out of this situation.

We don't have another choice, but to accept this situation as it is and move along. On my side that would mean doing things portable, but it's easier said than done...

 

[beatle]

Hey Foiter,

Just wanted to make sure you had heard :-> We have gotten one or two folks coming into the ESP MSDN forum to ask questions who didn't realize we were shut down.

I agree with ya, somebody up the management chain screwed up big-time, and even after all the internal public-sector / gov contractor sales and support folks started screaming "But, we've got folks who are interested in buying this, what do you mean its going away".

Some sort of "final" announcements about ESP should be made by end of June (since that's when the wind-down team I'm currently on is scheduled to end).

 

[beatle]

Hey Etienne,

Dang Tim, we can all have dreams... this is virtual reality isn't it?

Etienne

I suppose so, but trying to virtually create an ESP 2 while inside ESP 1 sounds like one of those things that causes the universe to collapse on itself :->

Tim

 

[Simon853]

I think we should all CC our MSDN subscription cancellations, MS volume licencing cancellations, X-Plane subscriptions, Presagis and Mak purchase enquiries, etc. to the MS brass who so cluelessly made these decisions..

Si

 

[Foiter]

We all have our hard times. Especially those of us who run their own business in the flight sim sector. And it's never been easy to take firm decisions whatever they are about.
The movement onto the new platform is a very tough investment of time and money with no regard whether it is about the development of XML or C++ driven stuff.
And I guess it's not even worth to mention that some of you guys just like me are hard-bound to the usage of DirectX and Windows API.
So thinking about movement onto X-Plane or making all this stuff platform transparent makes me very creepy feeling. If that is what I've got to do in the future than it has to be deliberately settled and planned on the schedule.
I don't have spare resources to drive hectic decisions and neither do you.

So, I'd say: Don't panic and wait untill Microsoft officialy announces their planes on ESP. If they no longer have any interests left in this product line than someone WILL license the code.
They might have been too shallow in making the decisions like that, but they're not stupid enough to just bury the code that has more than 25 years of its evolution.