UnityFS - Flight Simulation toolkit

**UFS NOW FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH UNITY 5. NEW VERSION CURRENTLY AWAITING ASSET STORE APPROVAL. IN THE MEAN TIME YOU CAN DOWNLOAD FIXED SCRIPTS HERE: https://www.dropbox.com/s/np45epukqh3sk7y/UFSUnity5Fixes.zip?dl=0 **

NOW RELEASED



Unity FS delivers the most accurate and complete Flight Simulation package to the Unity Asset Store.​

Website:
http://unityfs.chris-cheetham.com

Asset Store:
https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/#/content/11321

Webplayer Demo:
http://unityfs.chris-cheetham.com/demo


With its powerful suite of editor tools, complex aircraft can be quickly and accurately modelled, rigged and animated with 0 lines of code.

Highly advanced Flight Dynamics modelling, JavaFoil integration and a library of over 1000 real world aerofoils means your aircraft will look, feel and handle just like the real thing.


"Back in the day, I worked on Flight Unlimited III making cockpit and interior art. Our developers would have killed for the kind of editor tools you’re providing with UnityFS!"

Developed and tested by Qualified Pilots.​

Features

• Powerful and intuitive aircraft design tools.
• Advanced BET Flight Dynamics Engine.
• Fully modelled primary and secondary effects of controls.
• Fully scalable physics system supporting mobile to high end pc.
• Huge aerofoil library with 1000+ aerofoils built in.
• Seamless Javafoil and X-Plane .afl integration for easy custom aerofoil creation.
• Unlimited number of wings, engines, gears and attachments.
• Powerful editor tools - complex wing shapes - twist, dihedral, washout and sweep all supported.
• Fully riggable moving parts - elevators, ailerons, rudder and landing gear.
• Interactive virtual cockpit - Moving dials, gauges and levers are all supported.
• Dynamic audio – Engine screams, landing gear rumble and stall warning + more.
• Seemless integration with existing projects and third party plugins.
• Full documentation and video tutorials.
• Frequent updates.
• Lifetime support.

BUY NOW!​

UnityFS Features Video...

What UnityFS users have to say:

"I have to say, this is one of the few assets I’ve bought in the past few months that’s actually worth more than I paid."

"Awesome package! I think this is the most realistic flight simulation package in Unity Store. And I really like the workflow of setting up the wings, control surfaces, CoG, etc. very impressive."

 

It looks amazing! I've been waiting for unity flight simulator editor. I'm definitely interested in purchasing it. Prop planes only or will it support jets also?

 

Your flight simulator looks wonderful. Well done!.. Furthering on from GameReady, will it also be able to simulate rotorcraft such as helicopters and gyro-copters?

 

Wow, that's amazing. How much are u going to sell it for?

 

awesome, looks similar to the approach xplane uses

 

Hi guys,

Thanks very much for the positive feedback! I will try and answer your questions below..

The focus of the simulation is entirely on the wings, just what is powering it is entirely up to you. That said however the simulation does not currently model the compressibility effects found entering and surpassing the sound barrier. So the answer to your question is both YES and NO. Jets will fly entirely realistically up to the speed of sound and so passenger jets ( excluding Concorde ) will be fine. After that however (fighter jet territory) the flight model will still 'fly' but will be somewhat inaccurate compared to the true characteristics of a wing at supersonic flight.

This is another YES and NO The simulation currently only supports fixed pitch blades which would make a pretty lousy helicopter! This isn't a huge change to make so I would like to think that rotorcraft will be a big part of UnityFS in the future. However I wouldn't want you to purchase it specifically to model rotorcraft until I have tested it myself and can confirm it delivers the same quality that the fixed wings do. A gyrocopter would be a pretty good test for the physics!

The project is entirely a labor of love - I am a programmer and private pilot so this seemed like a great way of combining two of my passions! I don't have an exact figure as of yet however I intend to make it competitive with other vehicle packages both in terms of cost, features, support and regular updates. All the code is written in C#, heavily commented and made to be as extensible as possible should people want to get their hands dirty and do some coding!

Thankyou! The model is very similar to X-Plane yes, although X-Plane has the benefit of a much bigger team and a few more years of love. As such UnityFS is currently lacking where X-Plane isn't - Supersonic flight ( See above ) , Fuselage lift/drag, finite wing reduction. As the project matures I hope to add more and more of these features along with any other requests users may have!

Any more comments/suggestions/feature requests please throw them at me and I will see what I can do to get them included into the project. I intend to release a short video demonstrating just how UnityFS integrates into the editor and how simple ( with a little bit of aerodynamics know how ) it is to 'rig' an aircraft to fly very soon!

Thanks!

 

It's amazing !!! It can't be more perfect !
Suddenly I want to fly... ;-)

6R

 

Any chance of a 'work in progress' web player so we can get a feel?

Looking awesome!!

 

Hi Jeff!

Thanks for your comments!

*Absolutely*

..Over the next week I will be putting together a series of short videos aimed at demonstrating just how a bare bones 3d aircraft model can be imported into Unity and then 'Rigged' to fly with UnityFS. At the end of the series I shall release a webplayer of the created aircraft for you all to demo.

Keep an eye on this thread for regular updates!

Happy landings

 

SWEET! Will look for more updates

 

Eta ?

 

Hi allpay!
Thanks for getting in touch - The answer is not long!

I am just adding some final touches to the code and creating a rigging a couple of new aircraft to make sure that everything behaves as it should and that new aircraft really can be made without ever having to to open Mono Develop.

Let me introduce you to the latest aircraft to fly in UnityFS the Cessna 172




Keep your eyes peeled for a video of the entire rigging process plus a webplayer demo and release date!

 

Here is a quick time-lapse of the Cessna 172 being rigged to about 90% completion with NO SCRIPTING. I will be releasing a number of videos outlining each of the features used here in detail, but in the mean time here is a quick overview of the tool in action!

0:05 - Aircraft model imported, aeroplane script added + scale and rigid body weight set.

0:20 - Game objects with 'Wing components ' added to aircraft placed and scaled to match that of underlying geometry.

1:07 - Center of gravity object is placed to override rigidbody CG to sensible position.

1:10 - Control surface scripts are added to each wing, allowing pitch roll and yaw control. (Purple represents hinge point)

1:23 - Each wing is assigned its own 'Aerofoil' which describes the aerodynamic properties of the wing from wind tunnel data. (Single aerofoil used for preview purposes - see coming videos for much much more depth here!)

1:31 - For advanced users - Moment of inertia for the model overriden with real aircraft data. ( By default this is calculated automatically and should give fairly realistic results but overriding is possible if you have the data to hand.)

1:38 - Standard wheel colliders are added for steering.

1:50 - Engine script is added to provide thrust to the model ( Now deprecated - better options available in final release )

.

More coming soon!

 

This looks great. I would like to work with you if you want. PM sent.

 

Check your PMs!

 

This looks excellent.
Do you have an idea on the time until release?

I am interested in simulating a glider - I assume the gliding physics would be part and parcel of what you have already... do you apply forces to rigidbodies or is it all your own system? Also what about applying external forces such as wind and thermals?

really interested in buying this!

 

Hi stuatk,
Sorry for the delay! Quotes and answers to your questions below

I am pleased to announce that the project is now very very close to being submitted to the asset store. I hope to offer more details in the next few days of this, along with just what you can expect in the initial release.

UnityFS uses Rigidbodies. The aerodynamic elements are broken down into small chunks and the lift and drag is calculated for each element - these are then summed and applied as forces and torques to the rigidbody. This ensures that you will get nice interaction with other rigid bodies, and can use the existing collision system etc. The bulk of the simulation lies within accurately simulating the wings, so a glider should fly brilliantly with UnityFS.

Regarding external forces, you can apply whatever force you like simply by applying a force to the rigid body. Wind is not yet included in UnityFS but it would be very easy to add your own script which would simulate wind and thermals as simply or as complex as you wish.

I hope this answers your questions.

 

This is a definite purchase for me, can't wait for release.

 

Thanks John!

 

Thanks for answering my questions, I look forward to the release!

 

Great !!

 

HI,

Really looking forward for this toolkit, hope it will be released really soon! We already have a flight sim game built, but
the physics just not good enough..

 

I've been waiting for this one.

Has pricing been announced?

 

While we wait.

Have you tested gliders sailplanes? What effects are being simulated? Have difficult would it be to add such effects?

By effects I'm referring to - Ridge Soaring, Slope Soaring, Dynamic Soaring, Thermals, etc.

It would be interesting to have a computed model of the actual objects in the scene affect the flight model accurately (or as accurate as the flight model .

I understand you're using Blade Element Theory. ) - maybe some kind of baking process would work?

It is above my head but I have a game design based on Dynamic soaring. There is no need for it to be accurate.

You've used Blade Element Theory for propeller calculations? Wing behavior?

With UnityFS are we still far from having a model that takes into account the models Airfoil and Geometry in the scene for calculations?


Thanks. Anything on gliding/soaring appreciated.

ps.

For those wondering what Dynamic Soaring is - Here's the latest world record 498MPH with a an RC Sailplane.

http://vimeo.com/38136756 - plane takes off @ 2:50 - and it's very difficult to spot it.

 

I guess that would entail - either a full CFD model working in real-time (or maybe partially pre-baked stuff) or fake it with thermal objects or ridge drift objects, etc.

 

Turns out Flight Unlimited seems to have had one- not sure if anyone else has ever used it.

That would be an interesting Unity project.

 

Since I started this tangent.

This looks to be a reasonable solution for most of the topographic based lift.

 

The developer hasn't responded for a while. Is this project still under development?

 

Fake topic?
pls tell me it is not

 

It is not, I had direct email correspondence with the developer a while ago and I think he is just very busy.

He is working full time in a gamedev company which recently released one of the top rated Unity games, so my guess is he is just busy, I will write him to respond...

Bye
Fred

 

cool

I'm curious what tools will be included in the package, I'm one of the long time followers and contributors to the original FST which is still alive and have nearly all information on it.

 

Hi all,

Apologies for the lack of communication. Fred very kindly poked me via email and pointed me back to this thread. As he correctly guessed - life, family, work and real life flying (now that we actually have sunshine here in the UK ) have somewhat slowed my progress down on UnityFS. I can however give you an update on it's current progress and am happy to report that it is most certainly real and has not been abandoned.

One of my concerns with UnityFS as it stands, prompted by a very helpful private message on here and on further examination of the asset submission guidelines is that in order to get the most out of the current system you need to have a fair bit of aerodynamics understanding..watching my 'speed rig' video back to myself further highlighted this and so I am currently in the process of rearchitecting the system such that it will be a little easier to get aircraft up and running if you don't want to get waste deep drawing out lift and drag coefficients, but equally the flexibility is there if you do wish to refine the flight model further..

I am also slightly concerned that the current code is not massively extensible without users directly modifying my scripts which isn't great if I am going to be releasing frequent updates..so I am keen to provide a nice layer for users to hook into the code should they wish, again easing integration into their own projects.

So what does this mean? A slightly longer wait I'm afraid, but given the levels of interest on here which I am hugely grateful for I realize that the best way of refining this is to get you guys using it and then try and author lots of frequent updates to refine it and iron out any bugs. With that in mind, I am pleased to announce that I have given myself a submission deadline - 24th June. I can not confirm how soon after this the package will be on the asset store as Unity may come back with tweaks which they require but I will make sure that it is with them then.

Stay tuned for further details on exactly what will be included in the package and planned pricing over the next few days!

 

Hi SaruwatariKaito ,
Thanks for your interest, are you referring to this:
http://www.mobygames.com/game/flight-sim-toolkit
?

How did I never know about this/get this as a kid? I'm afraid UnityFS is in no way related to this software ( other than having a very similar end goal). I am very curious to see what FST did now - going to have to try and purchase a copy of it or see if I can find a youtube video of it in action.

 

gl33mer thankyou for all of your posts, and the link - I will look into it

 

[Removed']

 

Looking forward to release.

 

Hi,
Is this your kit? https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/#/content/9409

If not, could you do a quick feature comparison if possible!

ty!

 

Hi SonicViz,

Thanks for drawing this to my attention. It would appear that someone has gone to lengths to try and clone UnityFS. Please be aware however that if you are purchasing this it is NOT UnityFS.

It would be unfair of me to do a comparison as I have not yet downloaded this package and have a biased opinion anyway..but here is a quick list of UnityFS features:

• Blade Element Theory based Wing simulation model for very accurate flight dynamics.
  Primary and secondary effects of controls are all fully simulated.
  Advanced Aerofoil editing and importing - use real word Aerofoil data, or import .afl files directly from X-Plane / Javafoil.
  Powerful editor integration and visualization to make rigging aircraft code free.
  Drag and drop cockpit rigging system for 'virtual cockpit' simulation.
  Custom inspectors for all components to ease workflow.
  Heavily commented, clean C# physics script.
  
  Finally a library of drag and drop c# script components for common aircraft functionality - lights / landing gear / steerable nosewheel / autocoordination / brakes / stall warner etc.

UnityFS will be going into Asset Store submission next Monday (24th) a webplayer demo will be released on the same day so you can all test it properly for yourselves. It will also be cheaper ( please see my previous post ) When released there will also be complete documentation, video tutorials, extensive updates and lifetime support.

 

Thanks for the info. Looking forward to test!

ty!

 

We didn't try to clone your product, we needed to make the toolkit for
a game in development, and decided it would be a good idea to release
it in the asset store too. We believe it is different enough
(worfklow, rigging...) and doesn't deserve to be called clone.

The Extra 300L plane model happens to be the same, but that
coincidence has an explanation: we knew Martins Upitis time ago (he is
well known in the Blender community) and when we needed a good low
poly plane model for the toolkit's demo, Martins's extra was the first and
only choice because we already knew it would be perfect for us, plain
and simple. If it really bothers you that we use the same plane model,
we could change it, it won't be the end of the world.

I hope this clarification helps to change your opinion about us.

Kind regards.

 

Hi all,

Quick update, I know a couple of you are very keen to get your hands on the webplayer demo - thanks for the PMs! As you have spotted It isn't uploaded yet *but* it will be very very shortly - This last week has seen some very major changes to UnityFS which I hope you guys are going to love. Keep your eyes peeled. The demo is in a pretty good place, just adding some final touches and a link will be posted on the forums.

Thanks for your continued support!

Chris

 

Hi Chris,

I've been watching this thread eagerly from the beginning, and will buy the asset soon as it's live- any updates on progress?

Cheers, Nick

 

Any news?

 

Equally excited about this, having hung out of many Piper Cubs and 172's shooting air to air video

 

count me in as another person who's been following this (quietly) since the first announcement. It really is looking great, and opportunities for this asset start exploding in my mind everytime I think about it Can't wait to hear about the latest updates!

 

Hi John, Pixelsteam, chingwa!

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, it means a lot to see such interest in this project especially as I am having to cram every hour I'm not working into this project to get it fully finished.

I can't wait to show you guys what I have been upto with Unity FS recently, but given the recent competition - I have been purposely keeping my cards very close to my chest. You will hopefully see why very very shortly, and I really hope it will have been worth the wait!

Sorry I can't say any more just yet..I will keep you posted

 

Looking forward to this, keep mistaking the other release for this one

 

Likewise, quietly watching and waiting

Regards

Graham

 

Very interested in multirotor applications...

 

How is the engine simulation done. Is it a simple max power, max rpm or is it more advanced with fuel simulation, stalling, losing power with altitude and other things? Also does the engine require wings or does it only give the aircraft a foward force?