4 FLIGHT, GAMES, Real-time multi-user flight simulator ! K FLIGHT V3.1 is an OpenVMS (VAX and Alpha AXP) application which provides an O interactive, real-time flight simulation environment. While running FLIGHT, the E user sees a wire-frame representation of the world around them, and a O representation of the aircraft's cockpit. Both are continuously updated in real H time. The keyboard and mouse are used to control the aircraft during theD simulation (e.g., start and stop the engine; deflect the ailerons).   + Some of FLIGHT V3.1's capabilities include:   I      o	Extensive Collection of Aircraft and Worlds -- FLIGHT includes 100 C 	different models of aircraft (both fixed wing and rotary, and some E 	vertical take-off and landing craft), along with a few ships, ground D 	vehicles, the Apollo/Saturn V rocket, and other odds and ends, some@ 	real and some fictional (such as the NCC-1701D USS Enterprise).  G 	More than 20 different worlds are provided in which simulations may be H 	run, covering a variety of regions (some actual and some fictional) andE 	time eras, as well as some specialized worlds such as the near-Earth  	solar system.  L      o	User-Created Aircraft and Worlds -- FLIGHT allows users to create newE 	objects (e.g., aircraft and ships) which can then be flown or driven D 	in FLIGHT. Similarly, new environments ("worlds") may be created byD 	users in which simulations can then take place. Compiler and viewer7 	utilities are provided with FLIGHT to facilitate this.   A 	The definition of an aircraft covers aerodynamic (e.g., lift and C 	drag), geometric (appearance and animation), and structural (e.g., H 	wing span and chord, strength) aspects. In addition, the cockpit layoutA 	is completely user-defined. Instrument panels may be composed of F 	arbitrarily arranged user-defined instruments. Instruments themselvesH 	are defined as of some basic type, ranging from the very general (dial,F 	slider, digital, lamp, toggle) to the more specialized (radio, radar,B 	artificial horizon, turn-slip/turn coordinator, ADF, VOR/ILS). AnG 	instrument may be "wired" to more than 70 virtual signal channels such F 	as airspeed, altitude, throttle setting, and various radar lock data.G 	Customizable aspects of an instrument range from basic parameters such F 	as size and textual or numeric labeling, to details such as the shapeF 	of the toy airplane in an artificial horizon or the curvature and arc? 	of the tube in which a turn coordinator's "ball" is suspended.   G 	The definition of a world covers geometric (appearance and location of E 	objects), radio (frequency, type, and location), and physical (e.g.,  	gravitational) aspects.  J      o	Multiple Users -- Up to seven users, running separate simulators onF 	separate OpenVMS systems, may coexist together in a shared enviromentE 	linked by DECnet. Each user will see all other users, and collisions ; 	between users' aircraft (and weapon fire) may be detected.   G 	Collisions may result in either partial or complete destruction of one B 	or both parties, depending on such factors as the geometry of theE 	collision and the strength of the aircraft or weapons. Damage can be G 	evidenced in various forms, including partial or total loss of control H 	(e.g., a rear hit may affect the aircraft's elevators) or engine power.  E 	Simulated radios may be used for communication amongst users. Radios % 	may be set to different frequencies.   K      o	Multi-Crew Aircraft -- An aircraft model may include up to four crew @ 	positions, such as pilot, copilot, navigator, gunner. Each crew@ 	position can have unique viewpoints and instruments, and can beA 	operated by a separate user on their own workstation or display.   J      o	Multiple Windows -- An aircraft may have multiple view windows (oneE 	facing forward and another aft, for example) and multiple instrument 5 	panels (e.g., a main console and an overhead panel).   L      o	Multiple Viewpoints -- The user may view the environment from variousG 	points in or around the aircraft being flown (e.g., from the left seat @ 	or right seat or behind the aircraft), or the user may view the? 	aircraft being flown from external viewpoints (control towers,  	mountaintops, etc.).   K      o	Animated Aircraft -- An aircraft model may include moving components G 	such as landing gear, bomb doors, control surfaces, and the like which B 	visually illustrate the changing state of an aircraft, as well asD 	autonomous components such as rotating beacons or strobes for night 	flight.  E 	Another use of animated components in an aircraft is to model a Head E 	Up Display (HUD). FLIGHT supports simple HUDs which include velocity E 	vectors, aim points, radar lock indicators, altitude/airspeed tapes,  	pitch ladders, and the like.   H      o  Comprehensive Aerodynamic and Mechanical Simulation -- includingL         modeling of forces on each wing-half separately (which can result inL         behaviors such as fixed-wing autorotations [spins] and adverse yaw),L         ground effect, vectored thrust, and tail dragger vs. tricyce landing
         gear.   N      o	IFR Simulation -- FLIGHT models the essential features of both airborne> 	and ground-based equipment to support Instrument Flight Rules@ 	operations. This includes working ADF recievers with NDB groundD 	stations, and VOR/ILS receivers with corresponding ground stations.  J      o	Multiple Vehicles per Simulation -- A simulated aircraft may deployF 	additional simulated objects. Examples include NASA's B-52N releasingC 	an X-15 (provided in the kit); a bomber releasing a cruise missile F 	(provided in the kit); a landing craft releasing a tank. The deployedH 	object may be controlled separately from the parent craft (with its ownD 	views, panels, etc.) or it may be self-guiding (e.g., radar-seeking6 	missile) or uncontrolled (e.g., a free-falling bomb).  L      o	True 3D, Large-Scale Universe -- The environment in which simulationsG 	occur accurately models not only three-dimensional activity on a local G 	scale (e.g., climbs and descents), but on a global and universal scale F 	as well. The Earth is a true sphere in FLIGHT. A user can detect thisH 	via progressive curvature of the horizon as altitude increases, as wellH 	as by the ability to circumnavigate the globe, returning to one's point 	of origin.   H 	This latter capability may be achieved in a practical manner with high-E 	powered craft such as rockets. FLIGHT's gravity model allows orbital B 	behavior to be simulated (in real time), allowing, for example, aH 	complete trip around the Earth in about 90 minutes from Low Earth OrbitF 	(LEO). The strength of gravity properly attenuates with distance fromE 	the Earth, and is a function of the mass of the simulated object and G 	the Earth. The Apollo/Saturn V model included in the kit has been used ? 	to achieve stable low Earth orbits lasting a week (real time).   ? 	FLIGHT supports multiple planets (termed "masses") in a single H 	environment. Examples include the Earth and the Moon, or two asteroids.> 	The masses may have different sizes, masses, and atmospheres.  F 	The possible extent of a simulated environment is very large. ObjectsG 	and distances may range from the very small (e.g., details of doorways B 	on buildings) to the very large (e.g., planets separated by a fewE 	light-years) within a single environment, all to a consistent linear  	scale.   G      o	Terrain Handling -- A simulated enviroment may include arbitrary D 	landforms or other impeneterable objects. FLIGHT models the surfaceA 	contours of such objects, to allow for ridges, valleys, tunnels, F 	bridges, etc. which may be driven over with surface vehicles or flownG 	around/through with air vehicles. Separate land and water surfaces may B 	exist on which only suitably equipped vehicles can operate (e.g.,* 	automobiles, ships, or amphibious craft).