Aircraft/TerraSync download directory. As of FlightGear 2016.2, the location used by the launcher to store downloaded aircraft and TerraSync scenery can be specified in the Add-ons tab. Specifying the TerraSync download directory manually has, thus, become unnecessary. In FlightGear 2016.2 and later, the preferences are stored in. Sep 28, 2008. Download Hundreds of Additional Aircraft! FlightGear only comes with a few aircraft models in the initial download. However, you can downloads hundreds of additional aircraft. Choose which models you want to fly including all kinds of planes throughout aviation history. FlightGear aircraft downloads.
- Flightgear Free Download
- Flightgear Aircraft Download For Mac Windows 10
- Flightgear Aircraft Download For Mac Windows 7
The cockpit of the Boeing 777-200ER |
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Developed by | FlightGear developers & contributors |
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Initial release | July 17, 1997 |
Latest release | 2020.1.1 (11 May 2020) |
Written in | C, C++, Nasal |
OS | Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and FreeBSD[1] |
Platform | Cross-platform |
Development status | Active (1996-present) |
Type | Flight simulator |
License | GNU General Public License |
Website |
NASA OV-10 in FlightGear 1.0
FlightGear Flight Simulator (often shortened to FlightGear or FGFS) is a sophisticated, free, and completely open-source flight simulator framework, created by volunteers. FlightGear is released under the terms of the GNU General Public License. FlightGear is mostly written in the C and C++ programming languages.
- Download FlightGear 2020.1 here; Download Aircraft. The easiest way to install aircraft is via the launcher – this will ensure aircraft are installed to the correct location, and get be updated easily when new versions are released by aircraft developers. If you prefer to download aircraft manually, you can find download additional aircraft.
- Jul 03, 2020.
Increasingly detailed and realistic versions of FlightGear have been released every year since the project was started in 1996.
The latest public release is available as a free download at flightgear.org/download/, with easy to install packages for a variety of operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
- 2Software
- 4Add-ons and customization
History
See FlightGear History for the main article about this subject.
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FlightGear development started with an online proposal in 1996, using custom 3D graphics code. Development of an OpenGL based version was spearheaded by Curtis Olson starting in 1997. Many people have contributed to the project in the years since its inception.
![Mac Mac](/uploads/1/2/6/0/126065357/149440728.jpg)
FlightGear incorporated other open-source resources, including the LaRCsim flight model from NASA, and freely available elevation data. The first working binaries, using OpenGL for 3D graphic code, came out in 1997. Enthusiastic development of newer versions for several years resulted in progressively more stable and advanced versions. By 2001, the team was releasing new beta versions regularly, and by 2005, the maturity of software lead to more widespread reviews, and increased popularity. 2007 marked a formal transition out of beta development with the release of version 1.0.0, ten years after FlightGear's first release in 1997.
3D Cockpit panel for A-10 in version 1.0.0 in 2008
In 2008, version 1.9.0 of FlightGear included a major change from PLIB to OSG, which caused the temporarily loss of some features like 3D clouds and shadows, while newly added features, such as particles, imparted another degree of realism to the simulation.
Software
The simulation engine in FlightGear is called SimGear. It is used both as an end-user application and in academic and research environments, for the development and pursuit of flight simulation ideas.
This customizability of FlightGear is illustrated by the wide range of aircraft models that are available in FlightGear, from gliders to Helicopters, and from airliners to fighter jets. These aircraft models have been contributed by many different people.
The FlightGear aircraft in general use one of two main flight data models JSBSim and YAsim. Currently only one terrain engine is used, TerraGear. Weather effects include 3D clouds, lighting effects, and time of day.
Flight Dynamics Models
Flight Dynamics Models (FDM) are how the flight for an aircraft is simulated in the program. FlightGear uses a variety of internally written and imported flight model projects. Any aircraft must be programmed to use one of these models. Currently FlightGear is the only flight graphical flight simulator all the FDM are used for, and UIUC and YASim were developed specifically for FlightGear.
Early version used a FDM based on LaRCsim by NASA, which was replaced with more flexible FDM.
- JSBSim - the default flight dynamics model software since 2000.
- YASim - another FDM using different calculation method. Introduced starting in 0.7.9 in 2002.
- UIUC - developed by the UIUC Applied Aerodynamics Group at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, also made use of LaRCsim. Once being widely used, it is nowadays longer included in FlightGear by default.
- FlightGear can also be setup to render using inputs from an external FDM source, such as from MATLAB.
- Other custom FDM for a specific aircraft type have been written, such as for lighter than air aircraft.
FlightGear dependencies
Unlike commercial software titles, the main output of the project is simply the release of a collection of code. To turn it into a usable program it must be compiled for a given platform. The software libraries used to create FlightGear have varied over time. The main one is SimGear, which is the underlying sim engine for FlightGear. TerraGear is not a dependency, but simply a name for the default terrain data program in FlightGear. OpenAL is used for sound/audio software, including support for SDL (since 0.9.5). PLIB is used for hardware support routines, formerly used for sound support also which was taken over by OpenAL. OpenGL is used for its integrated 3D graphics routines, and other hardware acceleration (namely DirectX) is not supported. OpenSceneGraph is also integrated into FlightGear. Finally, Simple DirectMedia Layer is a software library which is used for compiling. Some of the dependencies vary depending on which platform the code is being compiled for. FlightGear users must either compile the code themselves, or find a third party to release a binary, if it is not among the ones available from the project.
Hardware
Hardware needed for FlightGear is narrowed to machines that support OpenGL and 3D hardware acceleration, with NVIDIA hardware having better support. Early versions had support for 3dfx cards, though this dropped as hardware requirements increased.
The FlightGear Launcher
Add-ons and customization
There are programs that are either integrated into FlightGear (dependencies) or perform a function with it. Some of these are included in the release of FlightGear for a specific platform but made by the project, while others are independently distributed but are hosted by the FlightGear project.
One major additional software is the actual interface for launching an executable of FlightGear. For most of its early life FlightGear was only run through command line interfaces. However, FlightGear Launch Control has been included since 0.9.3 in 2003. KFreeFlight is a launcher/front-end for KDE. FGTools is an alternative windows launcher front-end. FGKicker is a GTK+ based front-end.
Other significant programs include editors and projects for terrain data. Atlas is a chart/map support for FlightGear; Kelpie Flight Planner is a Java based flight planner for FlightGear. Finally, WorldEditor is an editor for airport runways and taxiways.
![Download Download](/uploads/1/2/6/0/126065357/978070333.jpg)
Aircraft
See Table of models for the main article about this subject.
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FlightGear started out with an aircraft included in NASA's LaRCsim, a Navion, which was replaced by a Cessna 172 by 2000. UIUC as well as JSBsim development brought several more aircraft with them, as did the development of YASim which have since become the main FDM used in FG. Over 400 aircraft in more than 900 unique liveries, are available for version 2.12, although only a few are included in the base package.
Boeing 733 docked in the EHAM scenery
Scenery
See Scenery for the main article about this subject.
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FlightGears world scenery project contains elevation and landclass data of the enitre world. Objects -like terminals, windmills and bridges- are collected in the Scenery Database.
Networking and multi-display
Several networking options allow FlightGear to communicate with other instances of FlightGear. A multiplayer protocol is available for using FlightGear on a local network in a multi aircraft environment. This could be used for formation flight or control tower simulation. Multiplayer was soon expanded to allow playing over the internet. Other features include a Google maps based moving up that allows users to observe where other players are.
Several instances of FlightGear can be synchronized to allow for a multi-monitor environment. If all instances are running at the same frame rate consistently, it is possible to get good and tight synchronization between displays.
FlightGear code vs. binaries
Unlike most commercial software, the project release dates only apply to a release of code, not an executable program. To create a runnable program the code must be compiled, which requires several specific libraries, including some general ones and, in some cases some platform specific ones. However, since this too difficult for most mainstream users, other contributors will work to make binaries available for a specific platform and operating system. These packages vary in their stability, performance, dependencies, and how up to date they are with the code base. For example, some older binaries work on Mac OS 9 but newer releases require specific Mac OS X versions.
For example, by late 2012 the latest code release was 2.10 (pre-release) and 2.8.0 (final). Binaries are generally available for the last final code release on all major platforms. Click here to proceed to the flightgear binaries download page
Binaries for other platforms such as IRIX are no longer supported, although pre-1.0 releases may work and can be found in the git source code repositories.
Applications and usages
See Professional and educational FlightGear users for the main article about this subject.
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FlightGear has been used and is being used in a wide range of projects in academia, industry (including NASA) and home-built cockpits.
Reviews
See FlightGear Reviews for the main article about this subject.
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External links
See Links for the main article about this subject.
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- FlightGear
- Forum
References
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Retrieved from 'http://wiki.flightgear.org/index.php?title=FlightGear&oldid=127521'
Howto install |
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Space Shuttle cockpit at night (Flightgear 2017.x). There are variants that start you directly in orbit to enjoy the view, on approach for training, or in piggyback mode on a carrier aircraft. The Space Shuttle uses a JSBSim FDM with a 3d model of gravity used by the space industry, and gravity that changes across the shuttle. The FDM is based on detailed NASA windtunnel data. The Shuttle contains the most extensive systems in FG, and is the most detailed simulation outside NASA's internal ones. It can be flown by the NASA crew operations manual.
Eurocopter EC135 around 'weeping wall' waterfalls at Mount Waialeale on the lush island of Kauai, near PHLI. Some helicopters in FGAddon to see: EC130, Alouette-III, and R-44. (FG 2017).
Airbus A320 cockpit on a rainy night. The A320 is the glass cockpit airliner with the most detailed systems available through FGAddon as of August 2020. It features a JSBSim FDM with some offline Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Needs Flightgear 2020.1 or later. The 777 is a Boeing glass cockpit airliner (YaSim FDM) that is well developed. (FG 2020)
Grumman F-14 Tomcat on the carrier Harry S. Truman. The carrier list can be viewed by clicking the ship icon next to the search bar in location tab in the launcher. The F-14 features a JSBSim FDM with windtunnel data. Fighters with windtunnel data include Saab Viggen , F-15, and F-16. (FG 2018)
Cessna 172P Skyahwk with internal lighting. The C172P is included in the base package, and doesn't have to be installed. C172p has float plane, amphibious, ski, and bush tire variants. The C172p has autostart, and the startup state is determined by start position. The C172p features detailed checklists, and guided tutorials in picturesque Hawaii. Well developed single-prop learning planes: Piper PA 28 with G1000, J3 Cub with G1000, C182S with G1000, and the easy to fly Ercoupe. (FG 2018)
Pterosaur over the Blue Mountains in Australia, near YKAT. Scenery from: Australia scenery project. The Pterosaur has a JSBSim FDM is based on research papers, and windtunnel data. The blueness in the screenshot is from organic smog due to Eucalyptus trees. To model blue haze increase the smog slider in: menu > Environment > Weather > Detailed weather > Advanced settings. (FG 2020)
Cessna 182S Skylane at dawn. The C182T variant features the G1000 glass cockpit. (FG 2016)
Space Shuttle (FG 2018)
The latest official aircraft can be downloaded and installed with a single click through the aircraft tab in the built-in launcher see FlightGear Qt launcher. This article describes the manual process, only to be performed when not using the launcher.
- 1Installation process
- 2When installing an aircraft fails
Installation process
Aircraft packages are available on FlightGear.org Aircraft. These require unzipping software to extract from a compressed file format. Then these must be manually installed in a FlightGear software installation to use. The details depend on the method of download, operating system, and user setup.
Alternatively if you are using the nightly builds or a version controlled copy of FlightGear, or you wish to manage your aircraft collection using version control tools, the aircraft can be obtained directly from the official FlightGear aircraft repository - FGAddon.
Linux
(Ubuntu 12.04)
- Download the aircraft
- Create a directory to store your aircraft if you have not already done so. Make sure this directory is outside /usr/share/games/flightgear/. For example, use /home/{YourUserName}/FlightGear/Aircraft.
- Extract your aircraft file into the folder (the one you created above)
- unzip XXXXX.zip
- Start up FlightGear. Append the root aircraft folder (/home/{YourUserName}/FlightGear/Aircraft in our example) to the $FG_AIRCRAFT list on the first page (previous to aircraft selection) of the launcher. Your aircraft should now show up in the list.
Macintosh OS X
First, We need to make sure that the FG application is in the application folder which can be done by simply dragging it into the applications folder from wherever it is currently located.Now let's get down to actually adding aircraft:
- Go to applications in folder
- Control+Click FlightGear
- Click the second option which reads 'Show Package Contents'
- Then click on the following folders: 'Contents >> Resources >> data >> Aircraft'
- Now just click and drag the aircraft data downloaded from the FG website in the Aircraft folder
(Works on MacOS Sierra)
Windows
- Download an aircraft and save it on your desktop.
- Unzip the file using a file archiver, for example the open source file archiver 7-Zip.
- Create a directory to store your aircraft if you have not already done so. Make sure this directory is outside your $FG_ROOT directory. For example, use C:Users{YourUserName}DocumentsFlightGearAircraft.
- Move the unzipped folder (usually the aircraft's name) to your that aircraft directory.
- Start up FlightGear. Append the root aircraft folder (C:Users{YourUserName}DocumentsFlightGearAircraft in our example) to the $FG_AIRCRAFT list on the first page (previous to aircraft selection) of the launcher. Your aircraft should now show up in the list.
When installing an aircraft fails
Rename Aircraft Folder
If FlightGear fails to start with the new aircraft you have installed, or if it starts but the aircraft is invisible you might have to rename the folder where the aircraft files are.This issue is most often encountered when downloading a .zip file from some online git repository. In those cases you will most likely end up with a folder name of the following form MyZippedRepo-[branch]. In this case you should rename the folder to be just MyZippedRepo.
If the above doesn't work, or for other cases, check for a readme file and have a look there for instructions.
Otherwise open the aircraft-set.xml file and search in it for paths containing Aircraft/AircraftFolderName. The name of the folder should match AircraftFolderName.
For instance if in the imaginary-set.xml you would find an instance like this:
that means that you should rename the folder where imaginary-set.xml is to MyCreation.
XML files with wrong encoding
If you start FlightGear with the new plane you installed and there is no cockpit or exterior, this may be because the XML files are in the wrong encoding.
To fix this on Linux try this:
If any of the methods above do not work, ask around on the multiplayer chat, IRC or on the forum.
Flightgear Free Download
Choosing aircraft
If you are looking for information to decide what aircraft to download, try:
External links to third party aircraft can be found at FlightGear hangars. Remember that the latest aircraft may not load with previous versions. If you happen to use an older version of FlightGear, look for older aircraft in the links section.
Video tutorials by the community
Tutorial on downloading and installing aircraft from Github pages by PINTO. Adding manually downloaded aircraft folders in the qt-launcher is pretty much the same for non-github downloads too. Aircraft are often developed on Github. This shows you to the download Github versions of aircraft that are not in FGAddon yet for whatever reason, and the latest work-in-progress state of some aircraft in FGAddon for testing and feedback. (September 2019)
Related content
Gallery (2017+)
Flightgear Aircraft Download For Mac Windows 10
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Eurocopter EC135 showing rotor downwash on grass. (FG 2020)
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de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter over Alaska. Variants: floats, amphibious, and skis. (FG 2017)
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Alouette-III has an AI simulation of an (intentionally imperfect) human copilot that can assist people learning to fly helicopters to take off and hover. (FG 2018)
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Eurocopter EC130 on the slope of a shield volcano in Hawaii. The EC130 has the most detailed systems of helicopters available through FGAddon in Flightgear. (FG 2018)
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Space Shuttle. Flightgear can show the view from orbit using Earthview - high resolution textures seen here are available as separate downloads.
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Piper J-3 Cub is also suitable for training. The J-3 Cub features a G1000 glass cockpit variant, as well as float, amphibious, lite ski/ski, tricycle, bush variants in several engine sizes. (FG 2020.x, Compositor)
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Robinson R44 is a popular training helicopter as it is inexpensive, but is hard to control. In simulations, expense does not matter. People trying a helicopter in Flightgear for the first time should try one of the other ones before the R44, unless they have a specific reason to. (FG 2019)
Flightgear Aircraft Download For Mac Windows 7
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