[1.3] Warrigal's (Basic) Autopilot for Airplanes (2018-06-17)

[Warrigal]

Warrigal's Autopilot is a (currently) simple and basic mod designed to make flying an airplane just a little bit easier.

Download:

• If you have CKAN, just search for Warrigal!
• Get it at GitHub: https://github.com/tswett/WarrigalsAutopilot/releases
• Source code: https://github.com/tswett/WarrigalsAutopilot

The entire mod is released under the GNU GPL version 3.0.

The autopilot can maintain heading (via bank angle) and altitude (via vertical speed, via pitch).

The main screen uses a special type of control for numeric inputs. I like to call these controls "odospinners". To change the value in an odospinner:

• Click on the odospinner. This will turn it pink (with one digit blue).
• Optionally, use the left and right arrow keys to select a digit to change. The selected digit is blue, and all other digits are pink.
• To change the selected digit, do any of the following:
  • Drag up and down using the mouse.
  • Press the up and down arrow keys.
  • Type in a digit.

Features on the horizon:

• GUI improvements, in order to make it clearer what you're changing and how.
• Additional control schemes, such as pitch for speed, rudder for heading, and bank angle for track.
• The entire AtmosphereAutopilot mod will be merged into this mod!

Edited June 17, 2018 by Warrigal
Information about v0.0.3, 2018-06-17

[Snark]

Hi @Warrigal, and welcome!  Thanks for adding to the modding community. 

Please take a moment to review the add-on posting guidelines.  Specifically, your main post, above, needs to add two things that it's currently missing:

• A link to the source code (I expect this will just be a different part of your github)
• State what your license is (it needs to be mentioned in the forum post, and present as a license file that's included with the download).

Thanks in advance for your prompt attention. 

Cheers,
Snark

[Warrigal]

7 minutes ago, Snark said:

Please take a moment to review the add-on posting guidelines.  Specifically, your main post, above, needs to add two things that it's currently missing:

• A link to the source code (I expect this will just be a different part of your github)
• State what your license is (it needs to be mentioned in the forum post, and present as a license file that's included with the download).

My bad, sorry! I've added a link to the source code and stated the license in the post, too. The git repository already has the license file.

[Snark]

40 minutes ago, Warrigal said:

I've added a link to the source code and stated the license in the post, too.

Excellent, thanks!  Looks good.

[Warrigal]

It's been a long time, but I've finally updated this mod to include an altitude hold feature! Woo!

Also, since Boris-Barboris's AtmosphereAutopilot mod is no longer maintained, I've decided to go ahead and merge that entire mod into Warrigal's Autopilot! (Yes, I can do this, because my mod and AtmosphereAutopilot are both licensed under the GNU GPL 3.0.)

Initially, it's going to be a very awkward combination, but I'm planning to gradually bring the two mods into closer and closer integration.

Happy flying!

[Boris-Barboris]

If you have questions, PM me.

PID peasants REEEEEEE

[Warrigal]

On 6/18/2018 at 5:58 AM, Boris-Barboris said:

If you have questions, PM me.

Will do! So far, Atmosphere Autopilot looks really sophisticated and pretty straightforwardly written, too. Well done! So far, I've been able to figure everything out on my own, but I'll make sure to let you know if I have any questions!

On 6/18/2018 at 5:58 AM, Boris-Barboris said:

PID peasants REEEEEEE

I heard that

As it happens, I really like the back-end of Atmosphere Autopilot, so I'm pretty much throwing out all my existing controller logic in favor of AA. Meanwhile, I've got some "fresh new" ideas about the GUI, so I'm throwing out most of my GUI code, too. So, in short, I'm throwing away most of my previous code. C'est la programmation

I'm planning for the next release to have all of the features of this release, but it will use the Atmosphere Autopilot control algorithms instead of my hastily-written PID controllers.