Default Bell 206 AI?

[Reggie]

Does anyone know how to make the default Bell 206 into an AI that will show up?

[Firebird]

The methodology I have posted here many times.

Firstly you start of with a good and trusted AI fde, .cfg AND .air files.
Then you adapt it to .mdl of the flyable aircraft by altering things such as the contact points and light settings to that of the flyable fde. These things are mdl related.
Then mod it as you feel necessary.

In this case there is no good MS AI to use as a start point. I would use one of Mike M's helo fdes as the start point. The Sea King is likely to be a bit of a heavy one to start with but you should be able to use the S-76 from the Carribean Defense Forces package.

Be prepared for some mods as these things not work out ideal first time. Also before you ask mods are not easy to work out and nearly every parm affects more than one thing, so baby steps are needed there.

[aerogator]

I may be wrong, but I was thinking you also had to change the aircraft type for a helo using AirEd to "1"...?? I may be thinking about something else though.

Good luck

[Firebird]

You don't need to change that parm as all AI are aircraft rather than helos. This is why you can't have vertical take offs for AI helos.

[mikewmac]

Reggie,

I created an AI FDE for Owen Hewitt's Bell 206B which with his permission I repainted and used as an AI Bell OH-58R Kiowa in my FS2004 Northeastern USA Military AI Aircraft And Airbase Collection. Part 1: 2006 Maine Military AI Aircraft And Airbases (neumai1.zip) which can be found at http://www.flightsim.com/file.php . It doesn't have any fancy animations like hover taxi, etc., but it does takeoff in a few hundred feet and land on a dime. That AI FDE would give you a good starting point for making your default Bell 206 into an AI, however using Owen's Bell 206B would give you the advantage of multiple LOD's, 3 I believe, for less impact on your FPS.

Mike M.

[Reggie]

Thanks for the input. Honesty compells me to admit that I don't know the slightest thing about aircraft design. I don't even know what an FDE is. I have minutely adjusted aircraft using .config and .air files, but wouldn't know where to start altering the Model folder, etc.

Living near Pensacola, it's an airshow everyday around my house. I repainted my FSX Bell 206 with a TH-57 paint scheme, and was trying to make an AI out of it to fill Whiting South with helo traffic. Guess I'll have to wait.

On a side note, it's very interesting that the U.S. military uses the T-6 Texan II almost exclusively now for primary flight training (We're seeing the real red & white "B" model around here now), yet no one seems interested in modeling an AI T-6 for FS.

Anyway, again, thanks for the input.

Reggie

[Victory103]

Your airfile and .cfg are your flight dynamics or FDE. You will need a payware program like Abacus' FSDS to model, and have a go at the tutorials on this site, it's not easy to pick up, I just started with some H-60s.

Being stationed in Pcola at one time and as a helo guy forced me to get S. Whiting up in the sim. In FS9 I used Owen's model for my H-57/67. There is a new version of his model for FSX in development, FS9 version already released that has the low skids, again these are not AI.

Up on my wish list is the T-6, not easy to just take the DF model and mod it to true AI standards, I have a few at NPA and at various AF bases, not a full ramp.

[Reggie]

Thanks Dustoff. Appreciate the info.

[Reggie]

I'm using the AI Hellenic PC-9 as an interim. It's looks like a T-6 from distance. I've mixed them in with the T-34's at NPA and NSE. Hopefully we'll have a dedicated T-6 before April 2012 when all of the T-34's will be gone (I read that in GoSport yesterday). The last T-34 class started last week.

Anyway, thanks again.

Reggie