par files

[ptflyer]

how do you make the aircraft work buy useing par editor?
i have got it to move and to have throtle control but i cant controil the pitch, role and yaw.

[ggunners]

ptflyer,

The easiest way to edit a .par file is to start with a model that's already close to what you need and modify it.

In FMS 2 alpha 8.x, the .par file parameters for control surfaces are within the WING entries of the .par file assigned to the appropriate channel. Here's a left wing with aileron at 15 degrees with a chord length of .04 meters on channel 3 (aileron).

//WING1
-0.3066 -0.7505 -0.0292 //—ƒˆÊ’uX,Y,Z [m]
1 0 0 //Ex X,Y,Z
0 0.9976 0.0698 //Ey X,Y,Z
1 //polar number
1.5010 //span [m]
4 //number of elements
AUTOELEMENT
1 //Angle [deg]
0.16 //chord length at the first end [m]
0.34 //chord length at the second end [m]
0.04 //chord length of the flap [m]
0.05 //start position of the flap [m]
0.4 //end position of the flap [m]
-15 //Maximum Angle [deg]
3 //channel

In FMS 2 beta 7.x .par files, the controls are activated by the radian measure of control surface movement, lines 3,4,5.

0.22 3:Drmax(rad) Ladder???????
0.17 4:Demax(rad) Elevator???????
0.006 5:Damax(rad) Aileron??????

-- ggunners

[plastic bonsai]

There is a par editor with FMS 2.8 which will display the elements. Its on screen editing is not great but it is good for editing the collision points, engine and wheel locations on plan views of the .x model.

[ggunners]

Yeah, I'm familiar with that one. It does take a LLLOOOONNNGGGG time to load models. It is also very easy to move an object that you hadn't intended to move. I like Mr. Masuoka's paredit.exe for FMS 2 alpha 8 at:

-- ggunners

[plastic bonsai]

I haven't found the par editor slow to load models and I'm using it to work out what the various parameters are.

At the moment I'm trying to figure why a twin prop I'm working on has a roll on take off when I've balanced it left/right and made the engines turn in the opposite directions. It's not too bad; I may claim it's a deliberate assymmtery to keep you on your toes!

[ggunners]

I'd be happy to look at it.

What I've found is sometimes I don't get the wing geometry exact, i.e. a wing is displaced a bit in the .par file.

Also, turn off the wind until you know it's flying right. I've found that the wind initialization sometimes causes a distinct turn after restarting a model.

-- ggunners

P.S. Found out what was causing the slow loads, if you load another model after working on one and do NOT click somewhere on the screen, it will not refresh even though the new model is already loaded. I still prefer Mr. Masuoka's editor, mainly because it let's me adjust the .par to be different than the DirectX file and it calculates the correct angular offsets for thrust angle, wing angle, etc.

To each his own on tools though. Glad you're having success with this one.

[plastic bonsai]

Thank you. I checked for wind but there was none. I found a small assymmetry in the tailplane but it still has a slight roll. I shall take you up on your kind offer and send you the files.

[jamesbriggs]

I am new to FMS. I've downloaded v8.5 - I have XP pro as my OS - but I can't seem to make any of the specific .par 8 x models fly. They load as a picture on the runway, but there's no sound and no response to the control sticks. All the v7 versions work well. Thanks

[ggunners]

jamesbriggs,

Try uninstalling FMS and reinstalling the version 2.7. Sounds like your desktop link is loading version 2.8.5.

-- ggunners

Update: I meant to say, sounds like you're running version 2.7 as that's what happens with 2.8 models when it loads the new .par file in 2.7. So uninstall 2.8.5, delete all old 2.7 files if there are any, then reinstall 2.8. Sorry about the confusion.

[jamesbriggs]

Thanks for the advice. I chose v8.5 because I have XP Pro. 8.5 was indicated as the only version which works with this OS. I'll try your suggestion, but I guess that I still wont be able to use the v8.5 models if they're specifically designed for 8.5.

[ggunners]

Yes, 8.5 is the right version, try uninstalling version 2.8, delete any 2.7 program files on your machine (model files are OK), then reinstall version 2.8. Sometimes my registry gets messed up especially with autozoom settings and a software deinstall and reinstall fixes the problem.

-- ggunners

[power83]

There is a editor program to create par files and models?

[jamesbriggs]

I don't think that I've made myself clear. I've never used FMS until I downloaded v8.5. None of the v8.5 models that I've downloaded have ever worked. On loading into the Sim a model, plus my chosen background, appears. However, the model never responds to my contol sticks - it sits on the runway. All the v7 models work perfectly. I tried the v8.5 to v7 converter, but this just caused the models to completely disappear! I use the v8.5 because it seems to be the only one desiged to work with XP Pro. I'm very happy with ther models I've got but, intellectually, I'd like to know why ALL the v8.5 ones don't work!
James Briggs
PS I have several degrees in Medicine, so I don't think I'm thick, just curious (but probably ignorant)!

[ggunners]

Do they continue to sit there when you hit the "I" key to initialize or the "R" key to handlaunch?

Do you hear the crash noise when the model loads?

Which landscape are you using? Does the model stay stuck on every landscape you load? You might stick with world.scn to start with.

Did you try turning off the extra graphics features and see if that changes something?

Version 2.7 .par files have a single collision point at the CG. Version 2.8 .par files can have multiple collision points anywhere on the model and can also have 3 wheel entries for steering on the ground. On occasion, I've seen some models get stuck on the ground when the wheels are below the ground within the .par file. I sometimes feel there may be instances on a single computer where the origin is off for some reason.

Can you think of anything you've done special with the wind or thermals or any other settings?

-- ggunners


Keep trying, it's gotta work.

[jamesbriggs]

Thanks for your help. I've downloaded some more v8 files. Here's what happens
1 Most, but not all, need the I key to be pressed in order to start
2 Some will then continue to work until replaced by another model. Then they need the I key pressed again
3 Others only work if the I key is held pressed with the throttle open
4 After landing all require another I key press. It is impossible to taxi them back to the original start point. The I key takes them back to program's runway position.
5 Some open with a crash noise
6 None of this happens with v7 models, all of which seem to behave as expected
7 Landscapes make no difference
8 I don't use wind or thermal settings
9 I've tried to change the emulation mode in XP Pro. 95 and 98/Me don't work at all. 2000 is the same as XP
10 I can't think of what else to do. As I said before, this is more of an intellectual challenge; I'm more than happy with the v7 models that I have and I congratulate the programmers for being able to mimic so well the full size jobs!