David,0 is the gear up, locked position. 100 is the gear down, no-weight-on-it position; for example, with tilting bogies, it's the tilted position you see when the plane is in the air. After 100, you are animating the compression, so first your bogies would un-tilt, and then your struts would compress as you moved from 100 to 200. I'm not sure what 200 signifies exactly...whether it's MTOW or some programmed weight at which the gear collapses or what.I'm not sure what you mean by using the second section independently...you don't need to animate compression when the gear is up!Matt

>I'm not sure what >200 signifies exactly...whether it's MTOW or some programmed >weight at which the gear collapses or what. >>I'm not sure what you mean by using the second section >independently...you don't need to animate compression when >the gear is up! 200 represents the maximum compression of the system! :)Even fixed gear a/c have some compression! :)

I've been using Lightwave's modeller for more years than I can now undo, and I was getting by with importing as DXF with the old version. However I went over to using GMax and then transferred stuff with 3ds format, which had a few other bonuses as I could make some rudimentary surface decisions back in the lightwave set up.So what can it import now? Is there finally some native ability, or do we have to wait in the hope of plugins like the last ones, or maybe they still work?Sure hope there's some good news in this one for me! :()Tell me it's not creaky on screen handling like the old one, please? :()

I know Louis is actively seeking collaborators to build (free) plugs-ins to support as many different model formats as he can. Dave

>I know Louis is actively seeking collaborators to build >(free) plugs-ins to support as many different model formats >as he can. Oh dear, looks like I'm stuck with GMax till there's a way then. I hope he'll do Lightwave, so much nonsense could be bypassed then - only has to go as far as the old 5.6 format too, that would serve as complicated as it would ever need to get!

Right, but when does FS consider the system to be at its maximum compression? Does it assume maximum compression at MTOW, and zero compression in the air, and interpolate between the two? Or does MTOW put you at something like 75% compression, so that you can slightly overload the plane and see it compress even more?Matt

>Right, but when does FS consider the system to be at its >maximum compression? Does it assume maximum compression at >MTOW, and zero compression in the air, and interpolate >between the two? Or does MTOW put you at something like 75% >compression, so that you can slightly overload the plane and >see it compress even more? Now you are asking things that involve the FDE, which I know little about! I know that there are parameters in the aircraft.cfg and/or .air file that deal with this, but how the internal algorithim of FS2k2 does its calculations is unknown to me.For example,empty_weight_CG_position=-8.724, 0.000, 0.000 defines the spatial position of the a/c when empty.These three entries in the contact_points section deal with strut compression and stiffness://8 Static Compression (feet) (0 if rigid)//9 Max/Static Compression Ratio//10 Damping Ratio (0=Undamped, 1=Critically Damped)Entry #8 defines the compression of the strut when a/c is on the ground at empty weight.Entry #9 defines a ratio between empty weight compression and max load compression.Entry #10 defines how much damping (shock absorbtion) there is. Set to a value of zero, the a/c will bounce up and down like a car with no shocks! :(I hope that this is helpful!

Hmm...but what constitutes "max load"? I'll bet that whatever that "max load" value is, it's the same value that's used to achieve the 200 keyframe visual on the model.Matt

I am currently in the finishing stages of a new DHC-2 Beaver. I hear FSDS II will be out in late October. Is there a more firm release date. I would like to add reflective surfaces and such from the beginning, rather than come up with a bunch of updates later.

I think they'll come very close to the target release date. Your model looks excellent! A few hours with FSDS 2.0 and you can add shiny surfaces, working water rudders, working gear and more. Dave