Developers question: Problems Operating 412 in HEMS virtual airline

[Vita Zenisek]

Greetings to developers,

We do run small virtual airline which uses cloud-based system for mission definition, and X-Plane plugin and client application for evaluating mission progress.
Our system is capable of attaching sling load and setting rope length manipulating following datarefs:

gDR_JettisonSize = XPLMFindDataRef("sim/flightmodel/misc/ett_size");

gDR_JettWeight = XPLMFindDataRef("sim/flightmodel/weight/m_jettison");

gDR_Jett_CableLen = XPLMFindDataRef("sim/flightmodel/misc/jett_len");

 

With Bell 412 and Bell 429 too (it uses your plugin), this does not work as it seems you are manipulating the same datarefs and you basically reset immediately anything which I set by my plugin.

I would like to fix this somehow, as Bell 412 operates HEMS in Czech republic and we would like to operate it in our VA as well.
My question is - is there any way how to disable rewriting those datarefs by your plugin or would you please recommend me what to do to achieve similar effect (having a sling load with some weight and cable length hanging below the helicopter) by manipulating some of your custom datarefs (if there are any) upon detection of Bell 412 or Bell 429 is used for the mission?

 

Thank you very much,

Vita

[x-alberto]

I think the safer way is for me to add an option to skip our custom code and leave full control to your plugin

Will have a look during the weekend

 

[Vita Zenisek]

This would definitely work for us. Thank you!

[x-alberto]

Please try the attached plugin mod:

win.zip

 

there is a new dataref       412/ignore_LOAD

set it to 1 to make the plugin skip the custom physics for loads (the value is saved)

Let me know how this works for you

[Vita Zenisek]

Thank you for test plugin, but 412 does not load with it. I got this in x-plane log.
 

Fetching plugins for F:\Sims/X-Plane 11/Aircraft/XPL11/AB412 v2.1 fox x-plane 11.10+/plugins

plugin version: Harrier 1.0.1

XPLMGetPluginInfo: PluginPath
F:\Sims/X-Plane 11/Aircraft/XPL11/AB412 v2.1 fox x-plane 11.10+/plugins/Bell412/64/win.xpl

XPLMExtractFileAndPath: PluginName
win.xpl

open: LogFileName
F:\Sims/X-Plane 11/Aircraft/XPL11/AB412 v2.1 fox x-plane 11.10+/plugins/Bell412/64/../debug.log

Log file not found
F:\Sims/X-Plane 11/Aircraft/XPL11/AB412 v2.1 fox x-plane 11.10+/plugins/Bell412/64/../debug.log

 

[x-alberto]

My bad, wrong plugin - I have updated the link now

[Vita Zenisek]

Now it works great, thank you!
I only had to change slingload setting like attached in Plane maker.

Vita

 

[x-alberto]

Ok this patch will go into the main code then

[Vita Zenisek]

Great! Thank you very much for quick response and great cooperation!

Have a nice day!

Vita

[Daikan]

@Vita Zenisek: Do you know per chance what the .acf modification would be for the freeware Bell 429, which uses the same plugin? It would use the hoist with extended boom as attachment point.

Edited May 1, 2019 by Daikan
Forgot this is the Bell 412 forum

[x-alberto]

Tom will also read It here

[Vita Zenisek]

14 hours ago, Daikan said:

@Vita Zenisek: Do you know per chance what the .acf modification would be for the freeware Bell 429, which uses the same plugin? It would use the hoist with extended boom as attachment point.

Hi @Daikan,
I set sling load position of 412 and 429 acf files to match the sling load hook, not the hoist. I can send you picture with 429 setting if you wish, but you have to experiment with the hoist anyway.
Vita

[timber61]

22 hours ago, Daikan said:

@Vita Zenisek: Do you know per chance what the .acf modification would be for the freeware Bell 429, which uses the same plugin? It would use the hoist with extended boom as attachment point.

For the 429 the winch hook point is set in SASL, winch.lua

[Daikan]

7 hours ago, timber61 said:

For the 429 the winch hook point is set in SASL, winch.lua

Thanks a lot!

Just to make sure the coordinates are transferred correctly to planemaker, can you confirm this would be the correct mapping:

winx -> lat
winy -> vert
winz -> lon

[Daikan]

After a lot of digging and testing I found the following settings would be appropriate for attaching a slung load to the extended hoist boom on the 429:

Note: I found the xyz coordinates in winch.lua were in meters relative to the 3d object's origin (Kit1.obj) while planemaker expects them in feet and relative to the aircraft's reference point which in this case was different than the origin - complicating matters a bit...