As an avid user of the RockSim program I became a bit frustrated at the inability to cluster motors of different types / diameters and to simulate airstarting of some motors in the cluster.
The RockSim documentation says to use the engine editor to construct a "composite" thrust curve of the motors you want to fly and then use that thrust curve in the simulation. I for one don't find the Engine Editor to have the most intuitive user interface in the world. Also, why should I do that kind of donkey work - isn't that what computers are for?
So I wrote a program. You may be interested in it.
What the program does is to load motor definition files, then present to the user an interface for the construction of new thrust curves from the addition of several motors. Each set of motors is specified by type, quantity, and ignition time.
Once the user has specified the thrust components, a new engine file is written that reflects the thrust of these motors over time. The weight of the new motor correctly represents the total weights of the components. Currently, my program handles up to 4 groups of motors. The limit of 4 groups of motors is due to the way I laid out the screen controls. The other limits are just arbitrary limits I imposed in the program for sanity reasons.
But, each of the four groups can contain upto 8 motors (all the same obviously) and an ignition delay from 0 to 12 seconds. That allows a maximum of 32 motors to be simulated in a single thrust curve. RockSim will allow upto 6 motors in a cluster, so you have the potential of simulating up to 192 motors!!!
Anyway, there is a readme file that explains how best to use it in tandem with the engine compiler and RockSim. It is worth reviewing.
I'm the first one to admit that this is *not* a perfect solution and I for one would really like to see this type of facility built into RockSim. If this was combined with some optimization for seeking the best ignition times of the airstarts (calculated to yield maximum altitude or velocity) it would be a boffo addition to RockSim.
-- Kimberly Harms
-- TRA 6206 L3
Download the Motor Definition Program Now! It's FREE! Click Here
Installation instructions:
Place the MotorDef.exe file into the same folder where RockSim.exe lives and all should be well.
Usage Instructions. Click Here.
NOTE: After you create your motor file, you'll need to add it to the RockSim database.
Click Here for instructions.
