Contact Points - Help? :) (pic and snippet of aicraft.cfg inside)

[Guest Coast Guard Brad]

I'm trying to get my right main mount on the deck when I start FS2004. And before I start messing with too many things (took awhile to get where I'm at with this thing), I thought I'd come here and you folks could help me out and maybe figure out which number needs to be changed and maybe by how much.Here's the section of the aircraft.cfg:[contact_points]static_pitch = 3.000static_cg_height = 4.320max_number_of_points = 9point.0 = 1.000, 5.761, 0.000, -4.700, 2000.000, 0.000, 0.800, 33.000, 0.100, 3.000, 0.900, 3.500, 3.500, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000point.1 = 1.000, -1.000, -5.000, -4.600, 2200, 1.000, 0.850, 0.000, 0.400, 2.500, 0.808, 4.700, 4.700, 2.000, 0.000, 0.000point.2 = 1.000, -1.000, 5.000, -4.600, 2200, 2.000, 0.850, 0.000, 0.400, 2.500, 0.808, 5.200, 5.200, 3.000, 0.000, 0.000point.3 = 2.000, -3.900, -16.426, 0.712, 1574.800, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 5.000, 0.000, 0.000point.4 = 2.000, -3.900, 16.474, 0.760, 1574.800, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 6.000, 0.000, 0.000point.5 = 2.000, -17.706, 0.000, 0.701, 1574.800, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 9.000, 0.000, 0.000point.6 = 2.000, 8.500, 0.000, -3.000, 1574.800, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 7.000, 0.000, 0.000point.7 = 2.000, -15.147, 0.000, 6.189, 1574.800, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 7.000, 0.000, 0.000point.8 = 2.000, -3.374, 0.000, -1.882, 1574.800, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 8.000, 0.000, 0.000gear_system_type=0Here's what it looks like..http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/82492.jpgTips - advice? :)Thanks!Brad

[Guest Charlie Hall]

"I'm trying to get my right main mount on the deck when I start FS2004."If I understood exactly what you mean I might be able to help. Could you please explain further? The contact point section is for setting the wheels positions and crash points. I don't think it is there for any other functions.

[Guest Coast Guard Brad]

Yes, the right tire, when I create the flight, is off the deck by about 8 inches, so it looks. As such, the plane is tilted slightly down towards the left.

[Guest Charlie Hall]

I'm with you now. Below is a list of what everything does, taken from the aircraft.cfg of the default 737-400. //0 Class <0=none,1=wheel, 2=scrape, 3=float> //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 (0=Undamped, 1=Critically Damped) //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)Your settings: point.0 = 1.000, 5.761, 0.000, -4.700, 2000.000, 0.000, 0.800, 33.000, 0.100, 3.000, 0.900, 3.500, 3.500, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000point.1 = 1.000, -1.000, -5.000, -4.600, 2200, 1.000, 0.850, 0.000, 0.400, 2.500, 0.808, 4.700, 4.700, 2.000, 0.000, 0.000point.2 = 1.000, -1.000, 5.000, -4.600, 2200, 2.000, 0.850, 0.000, 0.400, 2.500, 0.808, 5.200, 5.200, 3.000, 0.000, 0.000The only thing I can see wrong at the moment is the extension and retraction times appear to be wrongly assigned. You have one figure for both times for the left wheel (4.700) and a different figure for both times for the right wheel (5.200). I don't know if that causes this problem but it needs putting right in any case. Check against a similar plane's settings and you should see it. Good luck!

[Guest Coast Guard Brad]

Eh, whatta want - it's an old plane that's beat up daily by student naval aviators :)Thanks for the info. I'll work on lowering that right wheel I suppose.. odd that the same number doesn't make it level out.

[Guest Charlie Hall]

If you mean you want the wheels to extend at different rates then fine, but I guess that FS doesn't allow for such settings to differ like that. If it's what you want you might fix it by adjusting one wheel different from the other as you say. point.2 = 1.000, -1.000, 5.000, -4.600(adjust this figure), 2200, 2.000, 0.850, 0.000, 0.400, 2.500, 0.808, 5.200, 5.200, 3.000, 0.000, 0.000

[elche 5]

Hey Brad,Your contact points look ok to me so i'm think your key-frame animation might be wrong ?I've used different retraction/extension times for each Main gear before and never had any problems, but i did get better results by placing the retraction/extension delays into the animation itself.Also, an article that i found and still find useful, is Contact Points 101 for Compleat Idiots at The Sim-Outhousehttp://www.sim-outhouse.com/index.php?loc=articles&page=cphope it helps, if not... oh well i tried :-violin :-wave http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~elche/Genera...a_fl_md_wht.gif http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~elche/Genera...a_fl_md_wht.gifDiego CoslovichWebsite: http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~elche/index.htm (under construction)E-mail: elche@ihug.com.au

[Guest Coast Guard Brad]

Thanks to both of you. Appreciated. Thinking it may have all been in my mind, lighting, angles, etc.

[elche 5]

If thats the case it's fooled me too because the right gear seems to be compressed more than the left.... go figure :-hmmmhttp://homepages.ihug.com.au/~elche/Genera...a_fl_md_wht.gif http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~elche/Genera...a_fl_md_wht.gifDiego CoslovichWebsite: http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~elche/index.htm (under construction)E-mail: elche@ihug.com.au