T3D2 - Overview

Present functionalities of T3D2

• Is Java1.4 based using Java 3D
• Makes use of GTOPO30 or GLOBE Digital Elevation Model (DEM) 3D Terrain data
• Can use South African DAT DEM data in combination with the maps from http://w3sli.wcape.gov.za/
• Uses a Quad based 3D terrain representation
• Allows for mapping of a scanned picture over the terrain as Texture
• Terrain can also be displayed in altitude colors or in wireframe grid mode
• Handles 3D only tracks in IGC format
• Reads in IGC files for tracks and displays them
• Individual track points can be analyzed
• Has a serial Interface to download tracks from certain GPS track log devices
• Displays in 3D terrain and tracks
• Scans the tracks for thermals and store the thermal info in XML format for future analysis
• Display thermals, areas of uninterrupted lift, found in the track logs
• Has an animation option to show in a compressed time the pilot following the track
• A pilot view option to show the animated flight from a pilot perspective
• Has an XML based 2D glide and turn polare calculator
• The Best Glide and Best Turn calculator can be used to compare the performance of 2 wings
• Does a speed versus sink analysis which can be used for a polare diagram
• Analyzes track data if a pilot flew best glide or speed to fly. Uses the drift from the last thermal as an indication for the wind speed and direction. Uses the average climbrate of the next thermal for speed to fly.  And uses the Polare data to determine the best speed to fly. Then compares this to the actual flying data. Stores the result in an xml file. First results suffer from lack of exact wind speed, airspeed. If one can beef up the dataloggers to provide info on Ground speed and Airspeed in an IGC file, then one can get this analysis more accurate.
• Shows an Analysis of a Thermal, along with the turnradius and lift
• One can start JFlight out of T3D2
• This code is based on the assumption that accuracy not important. Scanned data is inaccurate. GTOPO data is not accurate. Glider Polare data is not accurate. GPS IGC data has some inaccuracy. If you are looking for accuracy to measure distances and time crossing for scoring purposes in competitions, use TP, the Task Verification code which works on FAI distance formulas and projections. TP is available from http://www.sahpa.co.za/sahpa/programs/
• One can analyze individual track points for time, speed, altitude,...
• Stores thermal locations in a csv and Gardown format to put them into a GPS as waypoints

Longterm objectives for the T3D2 code

• build up a thermal trigger database. Sort of a housethermal map
• define some code to calculate thermal trigger points based on the weather data and local terrain
• use that code then in a Vario GPS combination during flight
• Give the pilot some feedback where he could have improved his flight by analyzing the speed and sink or lift and thermal and check if he flew optimal
• Allow for what if simulations. Like if you would have left the thermal earlier, could you have made it to the next thermal
• Analyze the track if a pilot flew optimal, like did he core tight enough, could he have thermalled better.
• Did the pilot fly optimal between the thermals? Was he flying according to speed to fly. Was the pilot too slow in sink areas.
• Maybe determine which wing is best for what area? Is some wing better for Alpine conditions and another wing better in flatlands flying.
• Build up some statistics on average thermal profiles. Which will enable wing designers one day to optimize the wings for thermic conditions in a certain area. Like optimize a wing for a "standard alpine thermal" with a certain cross section lift distribution profile.
• Are there different types of thermals, is there a typical SA flatland thermal which is different to a alpine thermal? And which type of gliders is better or more suitable to be used in a flatland versus and alpine flight?
• Add some T-Phi analysis for comparing sounding with thermals, distance and distribution of thermals,