AM for other Hobbies.

[JackZ]

Hi,


Racing simulation might make a lot of sense for Air Manager.

Do you have any idea if there is a demand for people wanting to have a separate dashboard, and have full screen visuals? Als do people create
I have no clue how that world works, so ignore my ignorance.


Corjan

There is a lot of companies out there that sell hardware for racing simpits, such as LeoBodnar, and IMHO the ability to use a small screen connected to a Pi and Air Player is a strong point in favor of AM. This could allow for example to create wheels with integrated dashboard, as can be found in most Formula 1.

Not so familiar with this car simulation world though, but if you venture on racing simpit builders forums, pretty sure you will find people interested. Others on this very forum may also be involved in car racing simulation? (Definitely think a new thread should be started on that, sorry for hacking the aquarium thread)

The good thing is that only the specific plugins have to be developped with no if a few changes to the AM core to have it working, and I feel that rFactor, for a starter, eases that task for external developers.
Worth a try if and when you find the time!

Jacques

[Keith Baxter]

No worries Jacques,

I did change the subject to "AM for other Hobbies".
Perhaps Ralph or Corjan can assist in changing all the post headers to coincide.

Lets keep this one going as it is. It opens so many interesting discussion points.

Keith

[Keith Baxter]

I would think that if an AM Aquarium version becomes a reality then, just like the different sim`s, the likes of the various lighting and pump brands could also be supported,



Keith

[hmr170]

I am a very experienced simracer. Most serious simracing is done with iRacing.com. The market for an Air Manager type software is already pretty much covered with companies like Z1 and Joel Real Timing and MoTec (which is also used by real world racing teams). Z1 has replicated the dashes for every available car in iRacing. There are also apps for Android and IOS devices. Although there is sometimes a need to make digital dash panels for simracing, one of the most important areas is telemetry. Having the ability to view live telemetry and also analyze it later to make improvements to your car's setup and your racing line around the circuit is vital if you want to improve your lap times. Although race car dash panels are important, while you are actually racing, you pretty much just glance at which gear you are in and your shift lights (sort of a digital tach that flashes when you are supposed to shift at the optimum RPM). Other than that you might take a quick glance at your fuel level and lap time each lap.

The guys in simracing are pretty serious and they have simracing teams where they actually have guys whose job is to analyze the data develop car setups just like the engineers on real world racing teams. It's starting to become a pretty serious e-sport where they compete for money and real world race teams are starting to look at simracers as a source of new talent. iRacing is pretty cool in that you often find yourself either racing or in a practice session with very famous real world drivers from all forms of racing (F1, Indycar, Nascar, FIA WEC, IMSA, etc.) Only real names are allowed in iRacing. Basically, the name on your credit card is your user name.

There are also companies that manufacture custom wheels with integrated digital displays like those used with F1 cars. So called "button boxes" are widely used by simracers to map keyboard commands that are helpful in planning pitstop options on the fly and manipulating your communication channels. Unlike flight sims, simracing is very intense where things happen very quickly and constantly and the use of strong force feedback devices in essential. Some guys have heart rate monitors when the do their live streams and you can see extremely high heart rates. After a sim race, most drivers are pretty much worn out and their clothes are soaked with perspiration. It's strange how the human brain can think you are doing such an intense thing all while sitting in a chair in your basement.

https://www.iracing.com/

http://z1simwheel.com/dashboard/index.cfm

http://joel-real-timing.com/index_en.html

http://derekspearedesigns.com/index.html

[JackZ]

Thanks for the information. Most of it, they don’t get the high G lateral forces you get in the real car!
AM is kinda of a swiss knife, I believe its open architecture makes it viable for other applications, since it is « only » a matter of plugin development. IRacing and rFactor seem to be good contenders, as long as they offer ways to expose variables to external programs, which I believe is the case.
The problem of telemetry in AM resides probably in the need to display data in real time as curves, pretty much like an oscilloscope.
A curve() function could be useful, or at least a dot() function of some sort, with the ability to remove this dot from the screen (scrolling curve).

Pretty sure that interfacing also with train and/or tractors simulators would be an additionnal way to increase the AM public of potential customers.

Jacques

[Flingwing]

Am i missing another thread somewhere that talks about people using AM in real aircraft for Engine Monitoring and maybe even flight instrumentation?

[Sling]

@Flingwing i don’t remember a thread on that topic. The aircraft would have to be non certified and even then you’ve either got to run a Rpi or a computer to make it happen. You would also have to bring all the data in via hardware because there is no sim connection. Flight test very possibly but not as a primary instrument for me.

[Flingwing]

Thanks Tony.

The aircraft I am using is a CFM Shadow. It's a two place microlight powered by a Rotax 521cc two cylinder two stroke engine. These are fairly reliable engines if maintained well and with some comprehensive engine monitoring one can spot trouble coming. Unfortunately there is not much available in the way of useful and cost effective systems for this type of setup so using AirManager is a very attractive option.

I am using a ten inch tablet running Win10 and AirPlayer with an Arduino 2560 to collect the engine sensor data. The setup is purely a secondary source of information to supplement the other legally required minimum instruments I have already installed.

It is now common practice these days for pilots to carry an 'electronic bag' in regards to flight planning, logging and other data access applications. The top end Garmin gear has Bluetooth connect capability to overlay GPS info onto airport charts as supplementary visuals for approaches etc in apps like ForeFlight running on the pilots kneepad tablet.

I've got it all working on my bench and I'm about to migrate the hardware into the aircraft and hook it up to the sensors...fun times.

Up Your Knots
Terry