Piper J-3 Cub for FlightGear
Authors: Don Lavelle (model) David Megginson (FDM) Jim Wilson (instruments) License: GPL (see file "COPYING.txt" for details)
INTRODUCTION This light aircraft was fully modelled specially for FlightGear by Don Lavelle using Blender http://www.blender.org The project was started using drawings with permission from Toni Clark of http://www.toni-clark.com and the many images that can be obtained from the net were used for details as the project developed; no direct copying of files was involved. The XML files from the original FGFS aircraft, produced in 2002, were used with small changes. The project took over 100 hours to complete.
REQUIREMENTS You will probably need a decent PC to fly this aircraft; if the F-14 flies OK on your machine it will fly the Cub.
INSTALLATION The Cub folder should contain everything necessary to fly this 'plane. If you have a compressed file, uncompress it to your data/Aircraft folder in FlightGear. An uncompressed Cub folder should likewise be moved to your FG%ROOT/Aircraft folder.
FEATURES animated pilot control surfaces detailed 3D cabin interior detailed canvas wings eco-friendly exhaust fumes high resolution details 'high tech' fuel indicator joystick animation opening door and window optional tyre smoke (code in Cub.xml file) paint livery template spinning propeller spinning wheels tailwheel and rudder link throttle animation undercarriage suspension user input registration markings water spray on wheels
PILOT See Pilot_Notes.txt for performance and other information.
PAINT KIT To paint a new livery you can use paint_kit.xcf, which is a Gimp file. Labels are included to help you find your way round it, some of the objects are not orientated in an ideal manner, but should be useful anyway. An unsaturated layer has also been included.
MODELLING The aircraft was modelled in Blender 2.49a. The philosophy behind the modelling was to create as much detail as possible - down to nuts and bolts – but minimizing vertices at the same time. It was decided to model the wing as fully as possible and avoid using the simplistic method of using textures to simulate the sagged canvas effect. Many small parts were based on cubes and complex shapes were avoided where possible; for example, cables were square sectioned rather than polygons. Some objects, such as the instrument panel, were constructed to higher resolution because they would be viewed close up. The panels around the nose were opened slightly to create small gaps usually seen on the fullsize aircraft and consequently black bulkheads had to be added to avoid light leakage. The fuselage was constructed as a whole and not in halves (so it is not exactly symmetrical) and there are several other examples of 'built by eye' objects. The vertex count is well over 10,000 which is ten times the original J3 Cub model but roughly equal to the 737 and less than the 747 and F-14. The model was built on Toni Clark's drawing and over 70 photographs were used for details. UV maps were created from most objects using either smart projections or seams and straight unwrap. Less important objects eg. hinges, were moved to another layer and just coloured. After filesave and .ac export, a combined uv map was made by joining all objects which was exported to create a .tga guide.
IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE animated figure to start the propeller appropriate radio set carb heater operation change aerofoil from Clark Y to USA 35-B change mesh to equal actual structure change eg. cables and struts, to higher resolution floats fuel primer improved engine details interior lighting magneto switch new sounds optional passenger reflective glass on gauges separate cabin model with extra detail solidify selected panels
CREDITS Emmanuel Baranger and Bertrand Augras for the model pilot Dave Megginson for the FDM and his friendly support Jim Wilson for instruments Toni Clark for accurate drawings The FlightGear community for inspiration and comradeship In the spirit of FGFS, many of the Cub's elements were inspired or based on solutions found in open source aircraft. Thanks chaps.
If you have any queries contact 'karla' through FlightGear Forum.
LINKS http://www.cub-club.com http://www.j3-cub.com http://www.legend.aero http://www.fiddlersgreen.net
VERSION 1.110901 Panel update, various minor improvements. 1.110103 textures broken links, scaling and animated objects fixes 1.100910 gauges reflectivities corrected, ground shadow added 1.100408 fully remodelled aircraft, details above 1.0 first release in 2002