Thunder Chicken
Resident Lua Script Rabble-Rouser
So I looked at my air breathing engine and propeller Lua script modules and realized that they could be relatively easily applied to making a physically realistic helicopter. So I did that, modeling the engine and main and tail rotors with my engine and propeller codes, using an old R-4 for the specifications:
en.wikipedia.org
This isn't just a hack with a hover thruster. It models the air-breathing engine shaft power output using a thermodynamic model and it models the rotors with an actuator disk rotor theory model linked to the engine power output. It should be pretty realistic given appropriate engine and rotor parameters. It does fly convincingly. Hover behavior and performance seems good, and it even can autorotate. It has a ceiling of 12,000 ft which is pretty close to the actual performance. It has separate engine throttle and collective (throttle controls engine power, collective basically changes the propeller efficiency to determine how much of that power is converted into lift/thrust). Here we are hovering over the SLF runway:
All is well and good...until you take a look at the mesh:
I rather hate making meshes and Blender is immensely frustrating to me. I picked an R-4 as I thought I could just make a simple Orbiter mesh manually in a text editor, and I made a couple attempts but I honestly hate them all. Did I tell you that I hate making meshes?
So I was wondering if there is anyone out there with mad Blender skills that might be interested in making a simple helicopter mesh, and perhaps we could jointly release it as an add-on? I was thinking the R-4 because it was angular and could be made low poly, but something like a simple R-22 would be great too. I was also thinking how a Hughes 269 Calypso could be fun as I could also throw my buoyancy code at it and have a amphibious helicopter.
I can pretty much code up anything so long as I have the rotor dimensions, empty and fueled mass, and the specs of whatever engine it uses (I can model reciprocating as well as turboshaft engines).
Anyone interested? I can't offer you anything more than the public glory of being on the project team to make a helicopter add-on for Orbiter, but maybe that's enough?
Sikorsky R-4 - Wikipedia
This isn't just a hack with a hover thruster. It models the air-breathing engine shaft power output using a thermodynamic model and it models the rotors with an actuator disk rotor theory model linked to the engine power output. It should be pretty realistic given appropriate engine and rotor parameters. It does fly convincingly. Hover behavior and performance seems good, and it even can autorotate. It has a ceiling of 12,000 ft which is pretty close to the actual performance. It has separate engine throttle and collective (throttle controls engine power, collective basically changes the propeller efficiency to determine how much of that power is converted into lift/thrust). Here we are hovering over the SLF runway:
All is well and good...until you take a look at the mesh:
I rather hate making meshes and Blender is immensely frustrating to me. I picked an R-4 as I thought I could just make a simple Orbiter mesh manually in a text editor, and I made a couple attempts but I honestly hate them all. Did I tell you that I hate making meshes?
So I was wondering if there is anyone out there with mad Blender skills that might be interested in making a simple helicopter mesh, and perhaps we could jointly release it as an add-on? I was thinking the R-4 because it was angular and could be made low poly, but something like a simple R-22 would be great too. I was also thinking how a Hughes 269 Calypso could be fun as I could also throw my buoyancy code at it and have a amphibious helicopter.
I can pretty much code up anything so long as I have the rotor dimensions, empty and fueled mass, and the specs of whatever engine it uses (I can model reciprocating as well as turboshaft engines).
Anyone interested? I can't offer you anything more than the public glory of being on the project team to make a helicopter add-on for Orbiter, but maybe that's enough?
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