Hi everyone, my first time here!
I have a specific question on FSUIPC capability:
Is FSUIPC capable of retrieving accurate and up to date values of LAT, LON, ALT, PITCH, BANK and HEADING of a current USER aircraft?
I need this info on sim's every visual frame (as in, not a sim frame - I am not developing any PID or INS-related capabilities). I need this data in order to attach other SimObject to the user aircraft and closely follow it, as in, cargo pallets, external fuel tanks, adventure cargo (kayaks and gear attached to airplanes' floats), other aircraft (such as X-15 under B-52 or Orbiter on SCA 747), and sure, weapons.
Background: I do this right now using SimConnect, however the data obtained through SimConnect's Request/Set mechanism comes with a certain time lag. As a result, the object attached to user aircraft exhibits a bit of a positional lag, as if it is attached with a rubber band that twitches. I am guessing that, by the time I get the data, it is a few cycles "old" and the user plane has moved up ahead a little. I have managed to improve this by using token variable mechanism in SimConnect, and managed to minimize the lag in Lat and Lon plane, but the altitude data is still showing quite a bit of a lag. So basically, I would need LAT LON ALT, PITCH BANK HEADING values of sim's user object VISUAL model, right after the frame update, so that I can set this to my SimObject and send it to the sim before the next update happens (or, that is my general understanding of SimConnect client/server communication, please feel free to correct me if I am wrong)
I'm a fairly advanced SimConnect programmer. A while ago, I developed a spaceflight physics model (Video Here) for P3D where you can launch into orbit using a rocket made of almost 20 separate components (SimObjects). This was possible because I used SimConnect functionality to freeze position and attitude of all of the objects, and I was in control of position/attitude of every single part of the rocket (including user-controlled capsule). For this application, I have all the object offsetting and alignment math working, but it all relies on an accurate position/attitude data of the user aircraft, which is still under simulator's flight model control.
I'm attaching a screenshot of the current state of things (a SimConnect/WASM module) - a Space Shuttle Orbiter attached to the default MSFS2020 B747. It works well, except for the vertical object oscillations when the altitude is changing.
Any insight very much appreciated,
Mitch
TerraBuilder Team