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Propeller Animations

Ivan

SOH-CM-2025
Hello Folks.

This is a description of the way I try to build and animate propellers for my AF99 projects.

I have covered the rather simple method I actually use to create the actual propeller blades in prior threads.

There are four conditions I try to set up with the animated model.

1. Stopped: The propeller must be designed with angled blades. I find that 30 degrees or so works pretty well for a blade angle. I don't put in a twist from root to tip because I don't believe it adds anything and just makes the blade become invisible from some directions. The animation for this is trivial: There isn't any.

2. Idle: The propeller just turns without anything fancy from 0-30 % of maximum engine speed.

3. Off Idle: Just a bit above Idle Speed, The propeller becomes transparent along with a transparent disc appearing. This happens from 30-35 % of maximum engine speed. The transparent disc is from Aircraft Animator as is the propeller blade becoming transpaent.

4. Maximum: From 35-100 % of maximum engine speed, the propeller blades disappear to be replaced with transparent "Triangles" to represent a propeller blur.

One other thing I try to do is to have the propeller blur slowly rotating in the direction of actual propeller rotation at maximum engine speed. I don't like the propeller blur to move too fast to see or too slowly and this is the most difficult part to accomplish.

This animation appears to actually be dependent on AIR file parameters which surprised me when I first found out.

The factors that appear to control this are the number of propeller blades (from the 3D model), the engine idle speed, engine maximum speed and from the AIR file, the maximum and minimum engine governed RPM. (!!!)
I set these values to get the animation right and have not noticed that they affect the flight model in any way. If someone knows of an effect from doing this, please do let us know.

Fun, huh?
- Ivan.
 
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