From the Google Earth blog, an update of the community-created flight simulator plug-in to GE. Not quite ready for hardware-in-the-loop simulation yet, but it's getting there!
The latest version (.07) includes some nice upgrades:
• 10 aircraft: from the Piper Cub to the A380, through Douglas DC3 and Sukhoi Su-35, helicopters and hot air balloon.
• A map rendering over 30,000 runways to take off from and DAFIF airspace charts (using Google Fusion Table and Google Maps)
• Real time, local weather conditions (Cloud coverage, wind speed), wind lift on relief.
• In-game chat
• Time slider to select current time of the day.
• Improved physics, animations, flight models, instruments and multiplayer
• Improved user interface, fine control settings, saved preferenceThis is another great example of why it's so great to build games using the Google Earth Plug-in -- Xavier has certainly made some great enhancements, but there has also been thousands of new 3D buildings (and 3D trees) added to Google Earth in the past year, making it even better!
You can try it for yourself at ge-flightsimulator.com
Comments
Well for the price you can't complain! Certainly has potential I particularly like the map which has a controlled airspace layer, very handy. I may or may not have just wasted most of the morning flying the Mach Loop http://www.mjaviation.co.uk/Lowfly.htm there are lots of cool videos from there kicking about the webosphere as well.
Perhaps the main thing with this sim is you can easily fly it at work!
In my opinion, the HIL objective is not the 3D visualization.. and if you need a 3D realistic scenario, you already can load a a kml log and replay your flight in googleearth.
Will it ever have working physics, where higher altitudes allow faster airspeeds? Allowing the user to center the pitch was another showstopper they never thought of putting in. They really need a Steve Jobs to tell them "higher altitude = faster airspeed. 5 should center the pitch" so they'll get it done.
Good news!
I believe, some day Google Earth flight simulator will have an interface so we will be able to make HIL simulations on it instead of Xplane or Flight Gear.