Getting started with Aircraft Designer 2000

To work with Aircraft Designer 2000 you need to assign it working directories.

Launch Aircraft Designer 2000. Select the Options/Working directories menu option. Then select the Program directory (use the browse feature): the directory you assign to it MUST be the Aircraft Designer 2000 directory.


Assign a directory to your project (Project directory). To do that, you can use either the combobox to select an existing directory or use the create a new directory feature. In this directory will be saved the 3DF files you will design and some intermediate *.MD1 files. You will have to store the texture bitmap files (*.BMP) in this directory as well. As you are supposed to be a beginner, you have to create one. Enter "TEST" into the Create new project directory input data field and then click on the OK button.

Now select the Aircraft directory of Flight Simulator in the lower part of the panel (use the browse feature). Create a new aircraft directory (enter "TEST" in the Create new aircarft directory set input data field and click on the OK button). When you create a new aircraft directory, Aircraft Designer 2000 automatically creates the Sound, Panel, Texture and Model sub-directories required by Flight Simulator. It does not create the *.AIR file which contains the flight model of the aircraft.


The basics of the Graphic Editor


This section will help you to get accustomed with the Graphic Editor. During this "training" session, you will be prompted to perform some operations which are quite useless... Sorry guys! It won't be that bad.

To start with, have a look at the Graphic Editor screen by clicking on the following icon :


Select then the File/New menu option. A temporary input panel is displayed on the right of the screen for you to give a name to the project. Before you leave the input panel by clicking on the OK button, click into the master project check-box.

Create a sub-assy

Select the Sub-assy/New Sub-assy menu option. Give it a name (alphanum). Let's call it with the italian name toto. Click on OK to validate. A new icon is created in the icon bar (at the bottom of the screen). Clicking on the icon selects the sub-assy it represents. Each time you create a polygon (either by using the Create a chain feature, or by duplicating and transforming an existing one), it is enlisted in the currently selected sub-assy.

Create a polygon

Actually you can generate either polygons or lines: both categories are a derivative of the chain concept. Select the Draw/New Chain menu option or click on the fourth button of the tool bar (Create button).


A chain editor panel is displayed on the right part of the screen. Click on three different points of the navy-blue window. The coordinates of the vertices are displayed on the chain editor panel as soon as you create them. Click now on the seventh button of the tool bar (it displays the image of an arrow). The create/edit a chain mode is ended. Congratulation: you've created your first polygon (it should be a triangle if you followed the instructions). This triangle is enlisted in the "toto" sub-assy. To end the create/edit a chain mode, you could have clicked on the poly button of the chain editor panel as well.

Click on the "desk" icon in the sub-assy icon bar. Nothing happens. Well, be patient... Click now on the show sel button of the tool bar. The triangle is concealed. In the show selection mode, the only chains enlisted in the currently selected sub-assy are displayed. Click on the show all button: the triangle is displayed. You can do the same thing by using the View/View options feature of the menu. The "view options" is more powerful than the show sel/all buttons: it allows you to conceal some sub-assies and only show the other ones.

Play with the polygon

Move the mouse on the navy-blue window. Look at the white window in the upper-right part of the screen: the coordinates of the cursor are displayed. As we are in the side view mode (look at the radio buttons in the left-lower part of the screen), the "x" abscissa is fixed while the "y" and "z" coordinates are varying: the three of them are displayed in the white window. All coordinates are expressed in feet. "X" is the abscissa of the currently selected plane. You can modify it thanks to the plane input field in the lower-right part of the screen.


Why not doing it? Enter 5.000 in the field. Go back to navy-blue window and keep moving the mouse. When the cursor is in the proximity of a vertex, the vertex is highlighted by a small square. Click on one of these squares. You will notice that the plane coordinate field in the lower-right part of the screen is updated to reflect the actual "x" coordinate of the selected vertex.

Click and drag the vertex (i.e the square highlighting it). When releasing the left button of the mouse, the triangle is modified to reflect the new position of the vertex that you have dragged. Select now the Move chain button of the tool bar. Go back to the navy-blue window and click-and-drag another vertex. Now, you are moving the whole triangle! Click on the Move point button to resume the Move point mode.

Move the polygon to another sub-assy

Create another sub-assy (see above the instructions to do that). Call it toto1. A new icon is displayed in the icon bar and is selected. Now select the triangle you created a few minutes ago by clicking on one of its vertices. Look at the icon bar: the toto1 icon is no longer selected and the toto icon is. Select the Sub-assy/Move to sub-assy menu option. An input panel is displayed in the right part of the screen. Select the toto1 sub-assy in the combobox. Validate (OK button). The triangle is transferred into the toto1 sub-assy.

Create another polygon

Before doing that, enter another value in the current plane coordinate field in the lower-right part of the screen (let's go for 2.000). Click on the create a chain button of the tool bar (the fourth one). The Create/Edit a chain mode is activated. Click on two different points of the navy-blue window. Two vertices are created, both of them have a 2.000 abscissa.

Press now the shift key of the keyboard and move the mouse around a vertex of the triangle you've previously built. When you are just over a vertex, click on the left button of the mouse while pressing the shift key. You should capture the vertex and incorporate it into your polygon.

Do it again around another vertex, but this time press the ctrl key. Another point is incorporated, but it is simply aligned on the existing vertex.

Now we just have to validate the polygon creation... Wait a minute: the currently selected sub-assy is toto1 and you wanted to enlist this polygon in the toto sub-assy, don't you? Click on the toto icon in the icon bar BEFORE clicking on the poly button of the Chain editor panel and everything will be OK.

To figure out the difference between capture and alignment, try to move one of the polygons. Select once again the Move chain mode (by clicking on the appropriate button of the tool bar or selecting the options/move chain menu option). Select a polygon and click and drag one of its vertices: you'll see the difference between the capture mode and the align mode. The third point you have created belongs to both polygons. Moving one of the polygons results in the reshaping of the second one. The fourth point was just created at the same location than the existing vertex you have clicked on and there is no dynamic link between the two points.

Tip : Go back to the Move point mode as soon as you are finished with the Move chain one. It will prevent you from doing very bizarre things!

Multiple selection

These two polygons look great, but they are oriented in the wrong direction. We will select both of them and rotate them. Click on the nineth button of the tool bar or select the Selection/Multiple selection menu option. Then select one polygon by clicking on one of its vertices and press the space bar of the keyboard: the polygon is drawn in a nice green color. It is now part of the multiple selection list. Select the other polygon and press again the space bar. The first polygon becomes yellow and the newly selected polygon is drawn in green. The two polygons are now in the multiple selection list.

Select the Selection/Rotate menu option. An input panel is displayed in the right part of the screen and a red cross appeared on the navy-blue graphic window. It is the rotation panel and the red cross shows the center of rotation. Click somewhere on the navy-blue window. The red cross is moved at the location you just clicked on. The coordinates of the center of rotation are displayed in the rotation panel. Select the angle of rotation in the angle input field. Validate (dupl. + rot. button). Both polygons are duplicated and rotated. If you try to move one of them in the move chain mode, you will notice that the rotation kept the dynamic link existing between them!

Delete the two chains you have created by selecting the Selection/Delete selection menu option.

Create an intersection

There should be only two polygons remaining on the screen. To keep the explanation simple, we shall delete one of them, preferably the second one. Select it and click on the sixth button of the tool bar. Now select another view by clicking on the top radio button in the lower-right part of the screen. I suppose we were in the side view. If we were already in the top view, select the side one. Create another triangle in this view. You should be able to do that without any further information...

Once the second triangle is created, we will create a third one. Stay in the same view, activate the Create/Edit a chain mode (Draw/New chain menu option) and click twice on the navy blue window to create two vertices.

Click now on the inter. button (don't get confused with the insert one!) in the chain editor panel. The panel is modified, three lines are added in the lower part of it as well as a OK button. The first line displays the label select a plane with a bold red font. Select the first triangle (this one you created at the very beginning of the session) by clicking on one of its vertices. It should be displayed in the maroon color. Yeah... I know. It's a rubbish color... Validate the selection (OK button). The panel is once again modified: the select a plane label becomes plane selected and is displayed with a black and italic font. The line below (select a point) is now displayed in the red color and the OK button is shifted a little bit.

Select one of the two points you have just created a few seconds ago. Validate the selection (OK button). The vertex is highlighted by a red square, the panel is modified for the third time. The second line goes black and italic, the third one (select another point or a vector) is displayed in red.

Click on a vertex of the second polygon (this one created before). Validate the selection (OK button). Click on the other OK button. A vertex is created at the intersection of the maroon triangle with the line joining the two vertices you had selected. Of course, if there is any geometric misfit, the vertex will not be created. That's the reason why I asked you to change the view plane in order to work with perpendicular polygons.


As you may have noticed, instead of defining the line by two points, you could have defined it with one point and the three coordinates of a vector.

Validate the polygon (poly button). Take time to move the polygons in the move chain mode: you will see that the intersection is calculated each time you move one of them.

Edit a polygon

Select one polygon by clicking on one of its vertices. Then select the Draw/Edit chain menu option. The Create/Edit panel is displayed. You can modify the coordinates of a vertex either by moving it in the navy-blue window or by editing directly the coordinates. Select a vertex by clicking on its coordinates in the list.


The coordinates of the selected vertex are displayed twice: once in the coordinate list, a second time in the input fields above the list. Modify one of the coordinates. You need to validate the modification by clicking on the modify button. You can also insert a vertex (enter its three coordinates in the fields and click on the insert button), or delete it (delete button). Play with the Chain/Edit mode for a couple of minutes to get accustomed with it. I'll come back later.


copyright Hervé Devred, 2001