server change improving aircraft motion

[Keith Smith]

If anyone has tried any formation work on PE, either with another drone or a live aircraft, you might have noticed some odd 'back and forth' movement with the aircraft. I think I've found the cause of it and am working on a fix. It'll be a client-side fix for now, but I can fix it on the server, I'll do it there so that people won't have to update their PE client.

[lwilliams]

It's safer for all if I stay clear of other aircraft. My reputation precedes me.

But seriously though, I have noticed some "jerking" where the nearby aircraft jump ahead instead of smoothly moving though, I had always attributed it to a connection issue.

[Keith Smith]

I tested a client-side patch last night and saw significant improvement. There is a better solution, though, and I intend to make it happen on the server. I'll be working on it over the weekend and will deploy the change outside of business hours once it's done. There will be no need to download any new software.

The current architecture uses a different update rate for distant traffic than it does nearby traffic. That's going away and everything will use the same update rate. That's not the core of the issue, but fixing the core issue will require getting rid of that split personality.

[Keith Smith]

initial testing of the new server in a dev environment looks very promising.

[Keith Smith]

This will be rolled out tomorrow morning before we open up on Monday.

[Keith Smith]

This change has been rolled out. Additionally, the online map has been updated such that it shouldn't display an empty map from time to time while pilots are online.

Aircraft motion should be smoother across the board, now.

[lwilliams]

They most definitely ARE a lot smoother......good job!

[Victoria W.]

Thank you for always offering the best in PE! As of yet I have not been able to try my hand at formation flight, but now I'm really looking forward to taking a flight with my Dad and siblings! What are some tips to keep in mind while in formation flight?

[Keith Smith]

Try not to hit the other plane

I'm not trained in formation flying, but I've dabbled in it for a few hundred hours here on PE while recording all of the military drones. Formation flying appears to be all about judging relative movement. It doesn't matter a great deal how fast you're traveling, other than the fact that pitch excursions will result in faster vertical divergence than they otherwise wide at lower speeds.

The good news is that at higher speed, a given bank angle results in a slower turn (in terms of degrees of heading change per second). I've found it easier doing loose formation work at 400+ kts than the few times I've tried it in slower aircraft online.

Unless you're already comfortable flying a jet, though, I'd say stick to a plane that you already know...pick one of the cross country drones, then go follow 'em! If I had to pick a good starting point, the KS16 drones from L09-L04 would be a good candidate...lots of straight line legs and constant speed and altitude. Check out the live map, click 'show' on the drone list, scroll down to the KS16 drones, pick one, then go follow it, or park at L09 and wait for one of them to show up.

The day will come when I'll hope to see you blasting along VR1257 with the BEEF and DEALER F18's out of Lemoore NAS at 550kts down on the deck in a flight of 3

If you want to get serious about formation flying, I'm sure there are some good books on the procedures for it. I know there are specific communication techniques, join-up and break-off procedures, etc. For now, though, I would simply spend the time to start learning how to judge relative motion. At any given time, you should be able to articulate whether you're gaining or trailing in all 3 dimensions. That's where the fun begins Those subtle corrections will serve you well when it comes to precision flying by yourself, too.

Let us know how you do!

[Keith Smith]

Oh, for inspiration, check this out: http://youtu.be/nM_ZB7jqxz8

There's nobody that does it better. If nothing else, study the absolute magic that takes place from 0:26 - 0:36.

Relative motion, 3 dimensions.

Oh, and shear insanity from 2:36 - 3:00.