Make Navpanel and Datapanel more functional.

[NikolaiVChr]

Here are some words often used with navigation:

VIND = Wind
RUTA = route
MÅL = target
TID = time
brytpunkt = steerpoint
K-tid = Attack time
TAKT = fuel reserve
IN = On
UT = Off
ID-NR = Id number
Resning/rensa = reset
Bränsle = fuel
LOLA = Lon/lat
BANA = runway
Gräns = edge
RHM = radar altitude measuring
Kanal = channel
bas = airport base
stöd = support
kontrabanriktning = opposite of runway direction
sättpunkt = dont know, some kind of steerpoint
upptagningpunkt = probably interception steerpoint, maybe rally point.

[l0k1]

Thanks! This helps quite a bit.

[NikolaiVChr]

I have been thinking about this.

I think it will be hard to interface with the route-manager. In RM you can rearrange the steerpoints, how will the Viggen respond to that? In the RM you can have more steerpoints than the Viggen supports.
The Viggen support alternative/support steerpoints that should not be in the navigation polygon, but how to make that with the RM? The Viggen does not support entering VORs and ICAOs since it only seem to have numeric buttons, how useful is it then?

Maybe it would be more useful just to make the radio controls instead?

One thing that could be done for entering alphanumeric chars though is that a PUI dialog could pop up where you can enter ICAO? Not sure how else to do it, except entering lat/lon.

[l0k1]

AFAIK, the Viggen had no manually set radio navigation systems, so no way to use VOR's/NDB's/DME's.

I had a longer response written, but to be honest I just don't know enough about the nav systems quite yet (in particular the TILS, but still working my way through the navigeringssystem part). =]

As far as the route manager, I was going to write some nasal code to interface between the route manager and the Viggen. Opening the route manager would let someone enter VORs/fixes/ICAOs or whatever, and do it more quickly; but you could still do a 9xxx airport code or lat/lon in the data panel. But yeah, it might just be easier to not even bother with the route manager and do something completely different.

The manual for the AJS-37 also says that when entering lon/lat into the data panel, longitude has to be greater than 40 and latitude has to be between 40 and 90. Obviously this is less than ideal for almost all of the people who regularly fly the Viggen in the KSUU crew.

[l0k1]

Here's my thoughts so far, and feel free to shoot me down.

RE: VOR/NDB navigation and comms, all the magic would happen here:

I'm thinking about having two of those radios side by side, one for comms, one for VOR/NDB/DME/ILS navigation (this one would also have a radial selector). The compass ball below the HUVUDVARNING has yellow lines over it, which can be used to point to the radio nav point (I believe in the real one, the lines helped with ILS landings, and also pointed the way to the selected breakpoint).

RE: data panel navigation

I think it's possible to put the datapanel into the Viggen and leave it mostly true to real life.

We could interface the data panel with route manager with some aggressive custom route manager handling. This would limit the route manager to 14 waypoints (B1-B9, as well as BX1-BX5), plus start base and landing base. You could enter the waypoints via lat/lon on the data panel, or enter an airportvia the 9xxx method, and have some nasal scripting just to translate those numbers into the route manager. We could expose the airport code listing for the 9xxx numbers somewhat like the J35F Draken for Flightgear did. Selecting landing base 2 would just replace the destination airport with the alternative one. Also, leave the route manager available so people could use that instead of the datapanel to enter their route (still enforcing the 14 breakpoint limit though).

Differences would be allowing end users to customize which airports could be selected with 9xxx, and removing the restrictions on the lat/lon entry.

The datapanel, obviously, would be a bit more work than the radio systems, but I think it's possible to have both living side by side.

Let me know what you think!

[l0k1]

In thinking about it as I was walking to my car after work, we don't even need to limit it to 14 waypoints. We can have 999,999 with the BX button.

[NikolaiVChr]

Nice! All sounds good to me Pinto. :)

We are talking about setting up a KSUU battle now btw.

[NikolaiVChr]

Sorry I was preoccupied with the battle we were going to do. Read it more careful now.

Oh, do you mean two radios on the front panel, or two radios on the left panel? And nice idea with the BX button.

What does 9xxx code mean, how does that work?

The yellow lines over the artificial horizon is easy to make I think.

[l0k1]

The Swedish AFBs were numbered 1-23, so to input an AFB as a destination quickly, they'd turn the knob on the data panel to LOLA/REF and put in 9017 to load airbase 17 into L1 (or a breakpoint I believe), or 9917 to load it into L2. If the airport was put in this way, TILS data and runway info would be loaded automatically. To clear airport data, they'd input 9000 and 9900.

We could have an easy-to-format xml file with the 9xxx airport data, containing Swedish and some nice American AFB's (or whatever) numbered 01 through 99 by default. And if someone wants to redefine it to put airports they frequently travel to, make it easy for them to do so.

That was my thoughts on it anyway.

And yeah, regarding the radio, do two different radios modeled after the one in that pic, and put in the same spot. I think there's more than enough room for them.

[l0k1]

Probably a minor thing, but - for the radio panel in the pic above, I was going to have two switches, one to select comms/navigation, and one to select VOR/NDB. Any preference as to labels?

My current plan for the comms-nav switch will be COM | NAV, and the vor-ndb switch I was thinking about doing MHz | KHz, as VOR and ILS work on the MHz spectrum and NDB works on the KHz spectrum. Alternatively I could just do VOR | NDB.

Any thoughts, does it even matter?

[NikolaiVChr]

com/nav and Mhz/khz sounds like a good idea. :)

[l0k1]

Radio with textures, etc, ready to be added in. Thoughts? Not sure how crazy I am about the texture on the knobs, but I may just be being nitpicky.

(This is also the first ever 3D model I've done completely through the texturing stage. =] )

[NikolaiVChr]

Wow, looks great!

[NikolaiVChr]

Swedish squadron airbases (ICAO)

00 - ESPE - Vidsel (my favorite as this is where they tested the Viggen, as I got it)
01 - ESOW - Hässlö
02 - ES07 - Hägernäs
03 - ESCF - Malmen
04 - ESNZ - Frösö
05 - ESTL - Ljungbyhed
06 - ESIA - Karlsborg
07 - ESIB - Såtenäs
08 - ESKB - Barkarby
09 - ESIC - Säve
10 - ESTA - Ängelholm
11 - ESKN - Skavsta
12 - ESMQ - Kalmar
13 - ESCK - Bråvalla
14 - ESMT - Halmstad
15 - ESNY - Söderhamn
16 - ESCM - Ärna
17 - ESDF - Ronneby
18 - ESCN - Tullinge
19 - - Finland (1940)
20 - ESCM - Ärna
21 - ESPA - Luleå
22 - - Kongo, africa (1961)

[l0k1]

Both panels are done, just need to do one seperate switch for the TILS which will be the work of minutes.

[NikolaiVChr]

Magnificient

[l0k1]

I rearranged the right panel, is this acceptable? I can move stuff around, just lemme know. Also thinking about getting rid of the faux screws in the textures - it doesn't match the rest of the panel, and I'm not convinced it looks great.

[l0k1]

Doing this in this branch.

[l0k1]

Updated the textures to use alu.png in the backgrounds, got rid of the crappy brass screws, and all buttons/knobs/switches now work and assign properties/call functions appropriately. One step closer! Now I need to start translating some Swedish, and writing some nasal code.

The display also works and shows numbers correctly, etc. Forgot to take a pic of that - it's late, and I'm tired haha.

[NikolaiVChr]

Great

[NikolaiVChr]

1 - Function Control:

Set the dial to FK, there will be indications if the system is working as it should.

2 - Input of route data

Start by clicking RESET, then set IN/OUT switch to IN.

3 - Lon/lat input

Set the data selector to REF LOLA.

Write in the start airbase reference number (9006).
Then click LS.

For waypoint B1 input the longitude (could be 14 deg 58 mins),
then press B1. Then input latitude coord (58 47). Press then again B1.

Continue to do that for all waypoints.

Then input the reference number for the landing airbase (9003), and press L1.

Input eventually alternative landing bases on L2-L4.

Note: If the waypoint polygon is more than 7 waypoints, extra waypoints, can be put in as L2, L3, L4 or an already passed waypoint. Automatically choosing of waypoints will not happen for those though, so fuel consumption will not include those.

4 - Runway

If reference number for start/landing base is not used, the desired strip must be entered. You enter the runway direction using 3 digits, evetually using floating point if needed. Input is completed by pressing the waypoint button for the desired base.

5 - Wind

Set the data selector to WIND and put in prognosis wind. Direction and speed is input as 1 word and then press the waypoint button.

Note: Highest windspeed is 99 KM/h

6 - Time

Selector set to TIME. Input time and attack time plus cruise mach number.

Time is input as hour, mins, and secs. Complete by pressing LS.

Attack time is input similar, click M5 to complete.

If the cruising from BF to M5 is executed with another speed than the mach number incoded, then that is input when selector is set to TIME, complete by pressing BF.

7 - Changing something

Clearing the dataindicator display can happen by shortly setting the IN/OUT button to OUT or by briefly selecting something else with the selector.

To change something, set the IN/OUT to IN. And input the new changed value and press the respective waypoint button.

8 - Check of validity

Set to OUT. Click LS and for the point LS, the radar stick trigger is held in till location is shown. Plane now is on position LS. Then press B1 and the course to B1 is shown. Simultanous the fuel indicator will show calculated fuel consumption from LS to L1 including start and landing.

Control of next leg B1-B2 is done similar, select manually the B2, whereby the distance and course to to B2 is shown. Fuel indicator will show consumption from B1 to L1. Rest of legs is checked similar.

Control of last leg is done, after selecting B7 and manually change position to L1. Fuel indicator will show B7 to L1.

Finish off by setting to TIME, whereby time till start is shown on the display. At the same time, the LS coords is set to current plane coords, whereby manually setting to LS is not needed.

Note: If TIME is not selected at end, the start base coords is first set to current coords, when NAV is selected.

9 - execution

Start the engine. The light STICK is turned on.
Set selector to RWY, if the runway direction does not match where the plane is headed, click LS, whereby the display will show the nearest runway to the right and the reference number to the left in the display. For each click of LS is shown a new direction, while at the same time, LS in the destination indicator is changed to KS.

9.1 - Time left to start

After the wished rwy direction set selector to TIME, and time left before takeoff is shown.

At taxi to start is started the swicthes should then be:

Phase selector to BER
Selector to TIME
IN/OUT to OUT
Mode switch to A0
Passive/voltage-switch to OFF

10 - navigation

10.1 start

Nav phase starts when phase selector is set to NAV. At earliest this must happen 2 mins before route due to electronics cooling capacity is limited.

After 2 seconds after NAV, the HUD will start to show something. (dont know what)
The radar after 30 seconds.

10.2 Init of course

After plane has taxied and adjusted itself on the runway, can if needed click the reference button on the flightstick. Hereby is the runway heading from FLI correlated with the inputted direction.
The angular difference is then used for correcting course angle from FLI as the magnetic courseindicator is decoupled. If the data is more than 15 degs off from FLI, it assumes that the rwy direction has not been choosen. Then it reads the course from FLI with the opposite rwy-direction or if a reference number for the start base is used, it chooses the direction that has less than 15 deg deviation.

If that manual init is not done, it will happen auto during start procedure. The direction will be taken at the speed of 110-200 km/h for calculation of the course deviation. The magnetic course indicator is decoupled in this case when nosewheel WoW0 is false or speed is above 200 KM/h. Computer makes sure the deviation is not bigger than 15 degs.

10.3 Departure

At the time to start the display will show 0, the brakes should be released and when the timeline is expanded out till the markes rotation shoudl be started.

10.4 Rotation

If the sidewind symbol is at horizont, then 10 deg pitch is achieved. If it matches the vertical lines top, then 13 degs is achieved.

11 - route nav

At mach 0.35 you get command to turn towards first waypoint. Destination indicator shows B1 and distance indicator shows how far. The radar shows circle.

After takeoff the pilot chooses his altitude program, except for under takeoff where the altitude is set to 200 m. By pressing the reference button on flightstick can the altitude be changed. Then the current altitude is set as kommanded altitude.

If set to OUT and TIME, the time error from the input is shown in mins and secs.

The fuel indicator will show the fuel margin to do the attack. Subtract the second needle from the first.

[NikolaiVChr]

Some data panel functions made. But many still to go, so keeping this issue open.