Shortcuts to making cockpit window frames in the VC

[Sid2008]

Hi, I am using FSDS to make aircraft vc. Imagine a cockpit with windows cut into the wall and I am trying to make frames around the windows to give it a perception of depth.

What I am currently doing is taking tubes and painstakingly fitting them around the windows, but that is very slow and imprecise work.

I was wondering if someone on this forum know of a simpler way of making window frames. I have tried to use the points surrounding window panes and bending a tube to fit those points, but that is somewhat difficult to do. Yes, I am shamelessly looking for a shortcut.

Any ideas please?
Thanks,
Sid

[Milton Shupe]

Hi, I am using FSDS to make aircraft vc. Imagine a cockpit with windows cut into the wall and I am trying to make frames around the windows to give it a perception of depth.

What I am currently doing is taking tubes and painstakingly fitting them around the windows, but that is very slow and imprecise work.

I was wondering if someone on this forum know of a simpler way of making window frames. I have tried to use the points surrounding window panes and bending a tube to fit those points, but that is somewhat difficult to do. Yes, I am shamelessly looking for a shortcut.

Any ideas please?
Thanks,
Sid

Not sure about FSDS but in gmax you can extrude edge of polys or faces by selecting the edges, then extrude. I would do this several times to create a box or tube effect.

If you can't do that, maybe you could copy the window part then use its geometry to keep it fitted to the original part, and build from there.

[Sid2008]

Thanks Milton. I am intrigued by your extrision idea. You know, FSDS does have a extrusion function for a template so I will try to make that work. I really hate bending tubes around windows because that is so hit-and-miss, and it takes hours and hours.

I really want to connect with other FSDS designers such as Felix and Graham. Any idea which forum these guys are and how I join them?

Sid

[Milton Shupe]

Yes, they and many more very talented designers hang out ot the FreeFlightDesign forum.

You will certainly find help there.

http://www.aerodynamika.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi

Best of luck.

[Sid2008]

Milton, believe it or not FSDS 3.5 has the template extrusion routine such that I can create a template using window boundry points and extrude it along a horizontal axis to create a 3-d shape of the window as a cross-section. Now I am wondering, how to modify this 3-d shape into a window frame? What do you do?
Thanks
Sid

[Milton Shupe]

Milton, believe it or not FSDS 3.5 has the template extrusion routine such that I can create a template using window boundry points and extrude it along a horizontal axis to create a 3-d shape of the window as a cross-section. Now I am wondering, how to modify this 3-d shape into a window frame? What do you do?
Thanks
Sid

Depends on the aircraft.

In the Spartan, we just used textures over a rounded window opening. This was mapped pretty small so the textures are a bit blurry but was fine for FS9.

In the AC500, I buiilt a frame.