the behaviour of seaplanes on the water and all aircraft on the ground
is determined by the contact points section of the aircraft.cfg
here is relevant section from the FS2K2 Aircraft Container SDK.
Read it carefully
CFS2 dosn't support Water Rudder which is a pity.
I think this is the work around
Configure CFS2 floats as a tripod with two float points at the front at about the deepest section of the sea plane hull.
The third float point centered at the the back so the plane leans back on it slightly (like a tail dragger) can then be set stearable
[contact_points] section
You can configure and adjust the way aircraft react to different kinds of contact, including landing gear contact and articulation, braking, steering, and damage accrued through excessive speed.
You can also configure each contact point independently for each aircraft, and there is no limit to the number of points you can add. The data for configuring the points are placed in the [contact_points] section of the aircraft.cfg. When importing an aircraft that does not contain this set of data, the program will generate the data from the .air file the first time the aircraft is loaded, and then write it to the aircraft.cfg.
It may be useful to first look at the .cfg file of an existing aircraft; you can learn a lot from the many developer comments, which are followed by two slashes (//).
Each contact point contains a series of values that define the characteristics of the point, separated by commas. Each point's data set takes the form “point.n=”, where “n” is the index to the particular point, followed by the data.
Example:
[contact_points]
point.0= 1, -18.0, 0, -3.35, 3200, 0, 0.50,180, 0.25, 2.5, 0.90, 1.0, 4.0, 0, 0, 200
Below is a description of each element of the example contact point data set:
Parameter
Element
Description
1 (1)
Class
Integer defining what type of contact point it is; 0 = None, 1 = Wheel, 2 = Scrape, 3 = Skid, 4 = Float, 5 = Water Rudder
2 (-18.0)
Longitudinal Position
The longitudinal distance of the point from the defined reference datum, (feet). Positive is forward (out the nose).
3 (0)
Lateral Position
The lateral distance of the point from the defined reference datum, (feet). Positive is starboard (right, as viewed from the top with the airplane pointing “up”).
4 (-3.35)
Vertical Position
The vertical distance of the point from the defined reference datum, (feet). Positive is up.
5 (3200)
Impact Damage Threshold
The speed at which an impact with the ground can cause damage, (feet/min).
6 (0)
Brake Map
Defines which brake input drives the brake (wheels only). 0 = None, 1 = Left Brake, 2 = Right Brake.1
7 (0.50)
Wheel Radius
Radius of the wheel, (feet).
8 (180)
Steering Angle
The maximum angle (positive and negative) that a wheel can pivot, (degrees).
9 (0.25)
Static Compression
This is the distance a landing gear is compressed when the empty aircraft is at rest on the ground, (feet). This term defines the “strength” of the strut, where a smaller number will increase the “stiffness” of the strut.
10 (2.5)
Ratio of Maximum Compression to Static Compression
Ratio of the max dynamic compression available in the strut to the static value. Can be useful in coordinating the “compression” of the strut when landing.
11 (0.90)
Damping Ratio
This ratio describes how well the ground reaction oscillations are damped. A value of 1.0 is considered critically damped, meaning there will be little or no osciallation. A damping ratio of 0.0 is considered undamped, meaning that the oscillations will continue with a constant magnitude. Negative values result in an unstabl e ground handling situation, and values greater than 1.0 might also cause instabilities by being “over” damped. Typical values range from 0.6 to 0.95.
12 (1.0)
Extension Time
The amount of time it takes the landing gear to fully extend under normal conditions, (seconds). A value of zero indicates a fixed gear.
13 (4.0)
Retraction Time
The amount of time it takes the landing gear to fully retract under normal conditions, (seconds). A value of zero indicates a fixed gear.
14 (0)
Sound Type
This integer value will map a point to a type of sound; 0 = Center Gear, 1 = Auxiliary Gear, 2 = Left Gear, 3 = Right Gear, 4 = Fuselage Scrape, 5 = Left Wing Scrape, 6 = Right Wing Scrape, 7 = Aux1 Scrape, 8 = Aux2 Scrape, 9 = Tail Scrape.
15 (0)
Airspeed Limit
This is the speed at which landing gear extension becomes inhibited, (knots). Not used for scrape points or non-retractable gear.
16 (200)
Damage from Airspeed
The speed above which the landing gear accrues damage, (knots). Not used for scrape points or non-retractable gear.
In addition to the specific data for each contact point, there are “global” [contact_point] parameters that are also used:
Parameter
Example (from C182 aircraft.cfg)
Description
max_number_of_points
max_number_of_points = 21
Integer value indicating the maximum number of points the program will look for in the [contact_points] section.
static_pitch
static_pitch = 3.82
The static pitch of the aircraft when at rest on the ground, (degrees). The program uses this value to position the aircraft at startup, in slew, and at any other time when the simulation is not actively running.
static_cg_height
static_cg_height = 3.015
The static height of the aircraft when at rest on the ground, (feet). The program uses this value to position the aircraft at startup, in slew, and at any other time when the simulation is not actively running.
