• Licensed version of ClearView RC Flight Simulator
• Licensed version of ac3d
• Latest ClearView code
• Example Models

 

This document describes how to create helicopter models for ClearView using the flight physics code version 6.0 This code is in ClearView version 4.98 and up. This new physics code is very flexible and allow creating any flying model - if you can think of it, ClearView will fly it. This is object oriented flight model where the model is represented by a number of physical components such as lift surfaces (wings), different thrust objects (fixed pitch propellers, variable pitch propellers, helicopter main and tail rotors), drag objects and a number of rc components like motors, props, servos, mixers, gyros, governors, receivers, transmitters etc. Each ClearView model is built from these physics objects and can be of different complexity. Formally describing all simulated components will probably be boring, complex and probably not very useful. We provided detailed manuals how to create a model plane in ClearView. In this manual, we will describe how to create a helicopter. Since all helicopters are very similar (one main and one tail rotor) and differ mainly by size and setup parameters, the process of building a heli model is always the same. Here we will describe the easiest way to create your own model helicopter in ClearView.

If you want to see what other flying models different from planes and helicopters can be build for ClearView, visit this page:

 

Start with 01FirstHeli001 - copy the model folder and then paste it back in the models folder. Then, rename it to MyFirstHeliModel. Start ClearView and load it. You will see something like that:

This model has default parameter settings, and is flyable. The helicopter is represented by two boxes. Now, go to models/MyFirstHeliModel/data and open file body.ac with ac3d:

You can build your 3d model helicopter in body.ac ClearView will render anything that you put there. Let me modify this model a little:

Let's save body.ac, then save it as colbody.ac (to update the collision model) and load the model in ClearView:

Not bad for few minutes of work. To summarise: file body.ac holds the model 3d data that will be rendered by ClearView on the screen, file colbody.ac contains a simplified model. The ground handling and model interaction with other environmental object is done based on the 3d data in colbody.ac. Finally, fmodel.ac contains all physics object spatial definitions where we define all rotors, props and liftsurfaces for the model.

Any FMS models can easily be converted for ClearView using this sample model - 01FirstHeli002. Just create body.ac for the FMS model and store it over the current body.ac. Here is how FMS Jet Ranger would look in ClearView:

Here is how the same FMS model looks in ac3d:

Sometimes, things are easily understood only with hands on experience. The process of creating a ClearView model with rotating blades and moveable parts is based on using special naming conventions when creating the parts and having the parts defined in all 3 different files - body.ac, colbody.ad and fmodel.ac using the same names, but representing the parts differently depending which file we are in - in body.ac we represent the parts visually, in colbody.ac we represent the same parts simplified, and in fmodel.ac we represents some of the parts as ClearView physics objects. We have created a the simpliest fully functional ClearView model that illustrates the whole process. By simply replacing the parts in body.ac with your real model parts you will be able to recreate your model.  Note: If your model is different size, you will first have to scale all the files  parts accordingly.

Here is how the sample model looks in ClearView:

Here is what happens when we crash:

As we can see, the model is with movable parts and is crashable. Here is how it looks like in ac3d:

Note the parts names - they follow special convention that allow ClearView to animate the parts properly. Once you create the model, use Advanced Settings to edit params.txt and fine tune the model parameters.

Happy flying!

 

 

 

 

 

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