What do I need to make Custom Aircraft

[mf_jober]

hello. i am just wondering how to make custom planes, etc. for CFS 1. It says in the help file that I need Flight Shop or something, but I can't find a download. Please help me!!

[RNZAF Gooney]

MF,

Depends on what you mean by "custom aircraft". If you mean repaints, you only need a few items. If you mean building planes from scratch, that is a whole other matter.

[mf_jober]

Well, I want to build planes from scratch AND paint them too.

[denisch]

Try to get your hands on a copy of Abacus' "Aircraft Factory 99" and "Aircraft Animator". I think the animator is still availiable from Abacus but the factory might be found on E-bay.

[smilo]

Greetings mf_jober,
See my post at Designers Workshop/ Aircraft Design and Animation. I was able to get legitamate copies of both programs from pstrany via Private Messages in short order. I'm sure there are many copies sitting on shelves collecting dust. All you've got to do is find someone willing to part with something they no longer use.
Be prepared to take a bit of flak from some folks thinking you are crazy for wanting to use such dated programs to create aircraft for a dated sim. It's part of the fun, facing the challenge of using a "limited pallet". Check out Ivan's work if you want to see what is possible. He is a Master of the craft.
BTW, I think I read in one of the other threads that RNZAF Gooney bought a new copy of AF99 for $10 on Ebay.
Good hunting and welcome to CFS 1.
smilo

[Ivan]

Thanks for the vote of confidence. You might also want to round up AF5Paint and a couple of utilities I wrote to make some things in AF99 easier. Seems like there is a pretty good interest again in AF99. If so, I should probably upload some utilities.

- Ivan.

[smilo]

Ivan,
I would be up for the utilities. Anything to make it easier.
smilo

[RNZAF Gooney]

~S~ Ello all

Yes Ivan, you are convincing alot of people to design for CFS with AF99. I't a good tool, once you get used to it. One of these days I might:)

I am still argueing with the Fredrick. Trashed the whole thing (AGAIN!), and started with the easy parts first (windshield and canopy). Getting the aft fuselage up to the cockpit to blend with the cockpit and engine area is rather interesting, as the aft area take triangle or dome bulkheads structurally, then basic rectangle with sloped sides for the cockpit, then ovals for the rear engine bulkhead and a circle for the nose.....finally got smart and got a notebook to keep track of coordinates lol

Don't you just love the learning process for a new peice of software?

[Ivan]

Smilo: Will post some simple utilities when I can get them packaged up.

RNZAF Gooney: I hate to say this, but in my opinion, you are going about it all wrong. You should NOT use structures to build large pieces of the aircraft.

Use components because it is the only way that you will be able to get everything to match up. Structures must use a finite selection of cross sections and intermediate points in a cross section may not fall on an even multiple of 0.01 which means you can predictably line up another part to it. Structures can be used to approximate the general shape and build what I call "Bulkhead" or fuselage station parts. The Me-109 aft fuselage and cockpit junction are not difficult to represent. Nor is the Cockpit to forward fuselage. The killer as I see it are the Cowl bulges, Supercharger Intake and how they match with the wing root and coolant radiators.

Structures really only work when you have a simple and well defined cross-section such as the Pylons on a P-47, Propeller Hubs and Spinners, wheels, Gear Struts, Drop Tanks and such.

As for Component break-down, I would first make sure all my reference pieces line up with: Vertical CoG at about the centerline of the propeller shaft, Longitudinal CoG at about 1/3 - 1/2 way back from the wing leading edge. Build a bunch of cross sections as regular .afp parts and then use them as reference parts to snap to when building the actual fuselage polygons. Good places for breaks (Bulkheads) around the cockpit are at the front of the canopy and at the rear where the cockpit aft wall slant upwards. I name my bulkheads something like this: BulkF0105.afp for a fuselage station that is 1.05 feet forward of CoG and BulkR1366.afp for a fuselage station that is 13.66 feet aft of the CoG. Makes life easier for me.

Keep in mind also that this is usually the best area to start your assembly because of all the pieces (like the pilot) that interact there.

Hope this helps....
- Ivan.

[RNZAF Gooney]

Ivan,

Good advice all. The drawings I am using for the Fredrick (Me 109 F-4 I believe) do have drawings for various bulkheads along the fuselage and wing cross sections, so your practices make more sense!

The canopy areas are now done. I have CG for aircraft fixed as 0,0,0 for my pruposes (along longitudenal Axis and about 1/3 aft of leading edge of the wing), then generating parts and components based on this.

[smilo]

This may be a bit too general but, where is a good source for aircraft drawings? Especially those with bulkheads and cross sections. I haven't a clue where to start looking. I realise that it depends on what I want to do. I haven't really decided yet.
How difficult would it be to rework the visual, ie. smoothing the edges, on downloaded aircraft. Of course, giving credit to the original creator if the project were to be uploaded.
After an aircraft has been decided upon, do you use the "transperancy" method suggested in the Af99 Read Me or is there an easier, better way to lay out the project?
How does one minimumize the screen when in the Parts or Structures Shops? Basic stuff.
Thanks in advance.
smilo

[Ivan]

Hi Smilo,
Keep in mind that I really don't consider myself an expert with AF99, I just know how to get what I want accomplished in some sort of fashion. When working in Parts or Structures shop, close the screen when you are done. You really can't have more than one screen up at a time.

I don't use a "transparency". I get the drawings I want and scale them up to 1 pixel = 0.01 foot so that direct pixel counts in a photo editor can be translated to linear measurements or offsets from 0,0,0. I move the image so that the CoG lines up at some nicely memorable number such as 1000,800 or something like that. Number does not matter as long as you remember it.

Drawings can be gotten from a lot of Russian sites or by scanning a good drawing. The best situation is when you have factory drawings that have dimensions labeled. Be careful because sometimes the drawing does not match the labeld dimension. Had that problem with the P-40 I built.

www.airwar.ru (http://www.airwar.ru) is a good site for drawings.
- Ivan.

[hubbabubba]

Hi Smilo!

About smoothing the edges of a pre-existing model. If you don't have the AFX files, forget it!. I have used Trevor de Stigter MdlDisAs to try to modify ever so slightly the gear wells of a Taifun from Pegasus. I succeeded after a month of arduous work! It took me about 2-3 months to build my own.

As for the use of structure vs components, I am not as definitive as Ivan. You should work a bit like a sculptor. Make your fuselage from nose to tail with one component and use that component as a template to make structures. Each plane has it quirks but, for a Fw, I would do one tructure for the nose, one for the cabin, one for the rear fuselage and, maybe one for the tail extremity of fuselage. The canopy should be "married" with the cabin part along the middle line.

If youever get there, I will help you in the next steps.
God speed!
Hubbabubba

[hubbabubba]

I have mixed-up structure and component. I do start with structures, just to get a general idea. Then I start "chiseling" with components. For scaling, I start by getting a good 3 way view picture. Depending on the kind of airplane you are about to do, you resize your 3w picture to a workable size. For small one's, two pixels per inch is OK. Use the wing span for comparison as it is the measurement that is the least subject to interpretation.

To facilitate your work, you should get TPC from Andrea Cini, the freeware will give you a AF5 precision (0.1) and 5 bucks to Signore Cini will give you AF99 precision (0.01). You can, this way, make a "carbon copy" of, let's say, the entire port side of your plane and use it like a computerized acetate. Not only does it help you in getting the scale right, but it helps keeping the proportions of the whole project. It may sound like a sales pitch but I have no cut in Cini's gain:costumes: !

Once my "teethering" problems with my Taifun are a thing of the past, I will show you.

[smilo]

Thanks Guys,
Good Information and advice, both. Thanks. It is a bit confusing for this old truck driver brain to absorb, but I will get it, even if I have to reread it 20 times, I will get it.
It's been a frustrating weekend so far. I don't know how many hours I've spent attempting to resize and edit some very nice drawings I got from the WarBirds Resource Group. You probably already know about this place, but here's the link for anyone that doesn't.
http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/index.html
"Perseverance furthers" the I Ching
smilo

[hubbabubba]

My father, who's now retired, was a trucker for a bakery company for a good part of his adult life. Personally, I don't even drive! Never had to, never wanted to.

Since I have some loose time while awaiting Ivan's reply. Just send me a copy of the drawings that you want to use. Rather than trying to explain to you "how to re size", I will show you on your thread. OK?

One thing just went through my mind, since you are a "newbie" with AF99. Have you done the balsa glider and plane exercises? Because if you have not, you should. They're ugly little things that nobody would want to download for a run at "Clubber college", I'll give you that, but they will give you some of the basics that are essential for pursuing in your endeavour.
After that, play with them a little, changing group showings, order within a group, pcx placement and size, etc. I can guarantee you that those two ugly things will get "uglier", but it will benefit you.

After that, try your skills at making your own design. By that I mean a plane coming out of your mind. As for myself, I did a plane that could be named "What a mad mechanic would have done if he had gotten the chance to get his hand on every parts he needed in the most gigantic junkyard of WWII fighters ever to exist". Once again, experiment with that design and if something won't work no matter what you do, change it! That's the beauty of designing from the top of your head.

Then you will be ready for "real world" scaled bird.

Hubbabubba

[smilo]

Thanks for the tempting offer. The question would be, what would this "newbie" learn by having someone else do the job for me? Other than that, all one needs to do is whine a little and some one will do it for me. Sorry, not what I had in mind, I'm trying to learn how to do this.
It makes my family crazy when they ask for my help and I end up taking over, because it is easier for me to just do it, than take the time to educate them. Must be a Dad thing. Unfortunately for us all, everyone looses. I miss out on teaching them and they don't get any of the knowledge or skills I've aquired over the years.
Maybe by posting a tip or technique, many could learn something. Just a thought.
BTW, There's a good chance Ivan will respond monday. Weekends are for family. What's up with that?
Perseverance furthers.
smilo

Hey Gooney,
Don't you just love it when someone cuts in front of you at 65 and then lays on the brakes? The best part is, then they call the office and bitch about tailgating.
SOL=Scream Out Loud not S_ _ _ Outa Luck

[hubbabubba]

I think that you have misinterpreted my offer. I won't do it for you. I'll show you how it's done using your plans as an example. Big difference! Believe me, all the job will be yours to do. It's the only way to learn. If you prefer, I may use one of my collection of 3views.

Concerning being a "newbie", may I remind you that I have not uploaded a thing yet. I'm still wet behind the ears, CFS1 speaking.

Hubbabubba

[Ivan]

Hi Smilo,
Good call on the weekend thing. All I have is dialup at home and very little time to get on the Internet Computer. I did do a significant amount of work on the Ki-61 over the weekend. All the external panel lines are done. Tedious!

HubbaBubba,
Continuing our discussion in this forum sounds like a good idea to me. Posting the emails is fine with me if you want. I guess I will start with responding to your email:

1. Section 1003 is not in every AIR file. I believe this is remnants of the FS98 AIR file structure and the tanks it refers to are the ones described in Section 320 which was not even in the AIR file for Taifun. The problem that I noticed was that the aircraft did not sit evenly on the runway. One wing was low even before engine start (and torque). I dropped fuel down to 2% and the aircraft sat a bit more evenly. That suggested to me that the fuel tank arrangement was assymmetric. I checked Section 1003 and found that tanks were indeed assymmetric with location 169 inches to the side. To cure it, I removed the record because I did not think it was necessary. From what I can tell, the Section 525+ fuel tanks are symmetrical, but the fuselage tank is 7 feet back which surprises me. It really may be that far back on the real plane but I can't confirm by looking at the wireframe model.

2. 48 seconds seemed like a long retraction time. I changed it because I don't know the aircraft. I actually have about a 20 second retract time in the Wildcat I am working on.

3. If you set the time of day to "Dusk" you can see the shadows in relation to the wheels. I adjusted accordingly.

4. Immediately after take-off, the Taifun tends to nose up slowly until stalls, drop off and gain speed until it noses up again. I adjusted it to suit me which is to adjust until it is slightly nose up at full speed at low level. I have no idea how the real aircraft handles.

Screenshot B and Screenshot C showed the bleeds I was refering to.

My PC configuration is Pentium 233 MMX with 192 MB and Voodoo 3 3000 (16 MB) graphics card. Operating System is Windows 98 SR2. Resolution is 1024x768 x 16(?) colours. 17 inch Sony monitor. I have faster machines (fastest is Athlon 1.33GHz) but the old Pentium is my development machine.

- Ivan.

[smilo]

To facilitate your work, you should get TPC from Andrea Cini, the freeware will give you a AF5 precision (0.1) and 5 bucks to Signore Cini will give you AF99 precision (0.01). You can, this way, make a "carbon copy" of, let's say, the entire port side of your plane and use it like a computerized acetate. Not only does it help you in getting the scale right, but it helps keeping the proportions of the whole project. It may sound like a sales pitch but I have no cut in Cini's gain:costumes: !

Thanks hubbabubba for the advice. I went to the AC Designer's Tools Home Page, there were quite a few utilities that might be useful. I've been waiting for a few weeks now to hear back from Andrea regarding Tool Registration and Keys. It seems that the gentleman no longer monitors the given email addresses. So it goes. This could almost fit into your Getting Mad thread.
smilo

[hubbabubba]

Hi smilo!

I must admit that I am a bit surprised as he answered me promptly when I asked for my key. He even took the time to help me with a texturing problem that I had with AF99, it turned out that my computer was "naturally" set for metric system while AF99 was under US measurements.

He did not even waited for my money to arrive to him and send me my key as soon as I told him that it was on the way.

I just went to check in my emails; my last contact with him was in June. I will drop him a line or two just to be sure everything is OK. In the mean time, you could use his freeware - and less precise - tools to get the hang of it.

Sorry

Hubbabubba

[smilo]

hubbabubba,
No need to apologize. It's probably a simple SNAFU. I have been checking out TCP at the Freeware setting. A very nice tool, although I am anxious to use it at the more precise setting. Thanks again for the lead.
Patience furthers.
smilo

[womble55]

If you want a copy of Abacus Aircraft factory 99 the try this link :-http://www.flightsim.krsk.ru/index_r.htm
the words and music on the site is in russian, don't go to the english part of the site cos AF99 isn't there. AF99 is in the pages opened up by clicking on the first title at the very top left of the Russian homepage and on the second page of that folder about half way down.