Hello Guys, This has been done before but I just cant seem to find a definite Answer on how its done. Id like to Simulate a water landing similar to the one performed in Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, thing is i'm not sure what entry needs to be made to the Aircraft.Cfg file to get an Aircraft to actually float on the water. 

 

I have a freeware Aircraft, (Airbus) id like to try this on, any suggestions? 

 

 

I have a freeware Aircraft, (Airbus) id like to try this on, any suggestions?

 

I have performed that emergency landing with FS9 myself, as near to the real thing as possible - which means it wasn't very realistic. No risk, no fear and no engines spitting bird remains and quitting, no hurried judgment calls that had to be right the first time or else........and no passengers or crew.

 

The real aircraft is / was not meant to float, at least not for long, and if the landing had happened anywhere except in that busy waterway it would have surely sunk. In a more open water area the waves alone could have caused the aircraft enough damage to make it sink much more rapidly or break up. The best of everything happen that day. Captain Sullenberger did his job (and a great job it was). The water was relatively calm and there was plenty of boat traffic in the area to help remove the passengers to safety. The Airbus staying afloat long enough for it to be towed to shallow water to prevent it from sinking only points out the captains skill in setting the plane down so softly.

 

Now to answer your question ( I bet you were wondering if I would get to it). If you modify the aircraft cfg. file to make it float you will be essentially turning the airbus into a float plane which would then remove any realism whatsoever. Can it be done anyway? Yes. Although my own preference was to use the airbus as is, make the maneuvers and set down in the water then let the simulator just call it a crash and reset. What you wish to do would allow you to land and motor up and down the Hudson etc.

 

To do what you want you would have to modify the " [contact_points] " section of the aircraft.cfg file and define points of the fuselage as contact points and assign them with a (4=float) " point.num = 4  xx.x, xx.x, xx.x etc." you would have to experiment to see how much of the fuselage you wanted in the water, the pitch the aircraft assumes in the water and so forth. Note - if you simply go in and change point.num = 1 to point.num = 4 you will still need the landing gear down (not realistic). I honestly don't know if that would even work anyway. Whatever you decide, . . . it is your simulator and know one will come looking for you at least i don't think so. Have fun. I hope this helps you out.

 

[contact_points]
//Classes...What type of point ,0=Unused or Ignore,1=Wheel, 2=Scrape point, 4=Float, 5=Float Rudder

//0  Class
//1  Longitudinal Position        (feet)
//2  Lateral Position             (feet)
//3  Vertical Position            (feet)
//4  Impact Damage Threshold      (Feet Per Minute)
//5  Brake Map                   (0=None, 1=Left, 2=Right)
//6  Wheel Radius                (feet)
//7  Steer Angle                         (degrees)
//8  Static Compression          (feet)  (0 if rigid)
//9  Max/Static Compression Ratio
//10 Damping Ratio / Water Rudder Effectiveness  (0=Undamped, 1=Critically Damped) / 1.0 = normal
//11 Extension Time              (seconds)
//12 Retraction Time             (seconds)
//13 Sound Type
//14 Airspeed limit for retraction (KIAS)
//15 Airspeed that gear gets damage at (KIAS)

 

Regards,

Mel

 The best of everything happen that day. Captain Sullenberger did his job (and a great job it was). The water was relatively calm and there was plenty of boat traffic in the area to help remove the passengers to safety. The Airbus staying afloat long enough for it to be towed to shallow water to prevent it from sinking only points out the captains skill in setting the plane down so softly.

 

 

I Agree If indeed he would have flown to any of the aiports on eaither side the results could have been catastrophic due to the high buildings in the area. 

 

Now to answer your question ( I bet you were wondering if I would get to it). 

 

 

 

 

I Actually enjoyed reading all of this and greatly appreciate you sharing this information.