X-PLANE 

GIF ANIMATION PAGE

 

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What is X-PLANE......well if you have to ask, you probably do not know how much you are missing.  So go check out www.X-Plane.com and come back when you are convinced it is the most kick butt simulation out there under $100,000.   We have created a complete flying simulation of our Raptor for analysis of flight envelope characteristics.  What you see here is just the tip of the iceberg......most of the good stuff is,  as the analogy would imply,  below the surface.  Our simulation is based upon 200 or so engineering parameters that define the shape, aerodynamics and mechanical characteristics of our prototype.  If our simulation is boxy, then so too is the real thing.  As we make a change in the simulation to affect a better flight characteristic, then too we change the real prototype to match.  Aside from the CFD analysis we are using to determine the behavior of the airfoils, this is our main engineering tool for the Raptor's flight behavior.  We have tuned the basic model of the Dragonfly by having pilots with time in type (real flight time in real Dragonflies) take turns in the simulator and tell us what it flies like.  So far, we have hit every published speed and handling characteristic.  

Its movie time.  The true magic of the virtual reality  simulators is the ability to see your aircraft flying.  X-Plane does not disappoint in any way.  The reality factor is amazingly high.  If you take the time to render your aircraft in full color and paint scheme, the results are near photo realistic flights of fantasy.  

Shown here is a very short animated GIF of our first simulation model zooming down runway 09 of TIX, ( Titusville )  Florida.     It was created with X-Plane Version  3.00  and a GIF animator program.  It was only a taste of the real thing.  Colors had to be limited, images cropped and the animation file made tiny so that it would load and run with today's download speeds.   

Go to the very bottom of this page to see the link to a newer and much better animation.   

I  have finally figured out how to make screen shots and short movies with the newest versions of X-Plane.  The math engine that drives the engineering analysis of the data is the same, but the graphics have gotten a "bit" better.   Now the trees have leaves and the birds you scare off the runways have feathers.  Not quite, but it isn't that far from the reality of how good this new graphics engine is.  As the simulated day progresses, the shadows move across the ground like in the real world.  And the leaves of the trees do rustle in the breeze. 

We are using all this virtual reality to create a set of flight operating expectations and for helping to set up the initial flight test envelope program.   We have tried several zillion variations on a theme for the handling and behavior characteristics of our craft in the simulator and narrowed the field of choices to the final decisions that appear on the prototype as it sits on the shop floor. 

Alas, the real world problems of creating a canard with an integrated elevator+flap system (that did not require hydraulics)   were just to great for us first time builders.  We had to delete the flaps from the elevator in both the real world and in the simulation also.  We still intend on using a fuselage mounted speed brake, so the simulation contains one of them.  The speed brake deployment behavior is consistent with our MathCAD engineering model and we expect to increase frontal drag by 50% to help reduce landing speeds.   

To see a much newer, and much cooler animation of the Raptor sitting at the end of 09-TIX, < click here >   Note : be prepared to wait.  The animated GIF file is 1.4 megs of data.