Pushback Questions

[byork 2,259]

1. How many feet/meters per second does the pushback truck push the plane back by default?2. Is there a way to force the FSX pushback truck to stay connected to the aircraft? My pushback gauge involves the pushback stopping for split second right before the turn (left or right). This was the only way I could get left and right turns to work, but this results in the FSX pushback truck going back to its starting point (even though the push is still continuing).Cheers,Bryan

[spokes2112 179]

For ? #1 -In xml try using (A:GROUND VELOCITY, ) for the suffix try these... feet/second, feet per second, meter/second, meters per second, meter/second, meters/second. If the suffix(s) above donot work then use knots and some math to convert,, then dispaly the resulting string.For C++ use ExecuteCalculatorCode ?? and the above.Roman

[byork 2,259]

Hi Roman,Actually I beat you to it :-)I just simply returned GPS ground speed in a string to see what it was.Average speed is about 1.52 meters per second.After dusting off the SDKs (they are nice to read every now and then), I'm now able to get the plane to turn without the the tug disconnecting in FSX.However, getting the plane to turn to the correct heading will still require some work. I'll have to play with it more but at first glance it appears there may be some limitations with regards to available headings; in fact, the headings I'm being pushed to don't jive at all with what I'm expecting.From the SDK:KEY_TUG_HEADING KEY_TUG_HEADING Triggers tug and sets the desired heading. The units are a 32 bit integer (0 to 4294967295) which represent 0 to 360 degrees. To set a 45 degree angle, for example, set the value to 4294967295 / 8. Cheers,Bryan

[byork 2,259]

Still no joy I'm afraid.Anyone get KEY_TUG_HEADING to work properly?Thanks,Bryan

[byork 2,259]

Oh well, back to the old tried and true method I guess!At least I figured out how now to get the tug 'not' to disconnect during the left/right turn.Cheers,Bryan

[rcbarend 37]

Hi Brian,Here's what I do in my FSX XML pushback gauge (part of file rcbgh-50.zip)I start with a Toggle_Pushback, and wait untill the aircraft starts to move backwards (I measure groundspeed greater then 0.1 Knots).This can either be immediate (if no tug present in the scenery), or delayed (the tug start to move and couples to the aircraft).If you now give two Toggle_Pushback events (off and on again), and repeat this every gauge schedule (so 18 times/sec) the tug stays coupled and the aircraft doesn't move until you give a single Toggle_Pushback.The aircraft is now pushed back straight.At the moment you want it to turn, give a double Toggle_Pushback plus Select_1 or Select_2 event; after that, the aircraft will be pushed another length straight, and then it starts to turn.When the aircraft has made the desired turnangle (< 90 degrees), again give a double Toggle_Pushback.The aircraft will slowly stop, and the tug stays coupled to the aircraft if you keep repeating these double Toggle_Pushback command every gauge schedule.Then finally, give a single Toggle_Pushback (ie. pushback is set Off)and the tug will disconnect and go away.Note that this trick is experimentally-determined ( it's not, like many things, in an SDK).It works in FSX-RTM and SP1. I don't use SP2/Accel myself, but I guess it works there as well (otherwise people would have started to complain ...lol)Now, try this in a C/C++ coded gauge; although you never can be sure, since the exact timing of events in a C/C++ gauge may be slightly different then from an XML gauge, I'm pretty sure it will work the same.Cheers, Rob Barendregt

[byork 2,259]

Ah, repeating the two toggle pushback events in unison 18 times a second is the secret...Figured it would be something like that :-)Cheers Rob, that was a great post :-)Bryan