Weight Shift Assisted by Feddback Pots to Motors
Wannabeaflyer,
The motion control on my setup, does mostly come from the pilot's weigh shift, but, as it stands, it is assisted by position potentiometers that feedback DC voltage to control motors, which in turn assist in the tilting of the would be wing, in this case the shifting of the pilot and harness weight, in reference to the central hang point. This gives the pilot the sensation of a certain amount of resistance on the control bar or stick, but not where the pilot is having to weight shift his total weight. In a real aircraft you do feel the resistance to control surface to some degree, the wing creating lift is reducing the amount of resistance one has to control in order to effect steering, the closer this action and feel is mimic'ed in a sim, the more realistic the end thrill is. Tie all this with some type of motion cueing control either mechanical, or via other means to the game or FS program and you can have the full effect.
The simplest form of motion cueing is an actual joystick connected to the PC where the FS is running and physically rigged to move with the pilot's position.
A more eleaborate, but not difficult, setup would be to use the potentiometers directly to the PC's game port, like many are doing by hacking standar joysticks to be used in more customized flight yokes and similar.
In a hanglider, the pilot is actually the joystick or part of it, this action control the visual position of your ,would be aircraft, in reference to horizon landscape, in your monitor or projection screen. But as I understand it, most people are using the FS aircraft position software cues to control the position of their motion platforms, using external convertion programs, perhaps these programs are analagous to what a post processor program does in a CNC environment? A program that outputs XYZ positional data to an XYZ controller box that drives XYZ motors or actuators?
OK I am talking purely by logic here, but maybe if I am missing something, someone can correct me?
I would like to understand more about the programs you mention to control feedback. When you say decent, what do you mean by this? do you mean the resolution and precision of the actual motion you would get? from actuating the motion platform via software control?