Grantville Gazette, Volume XII

by Eric Flint

  Simulators and the Home Computer

  When many people think of consumer flight simulator software, the program that first springs to mind is Microsoft Flight Simulator. It is the most visible of the flight simulators available today, but it's not the only one. There is a large market that has everything from virtual airlines to programs that allow budding pilots to fly the latest fighter aircraft. One simulator even allows users to fly over the surface of Mars or in outer space.

  The first consumer flight simulator, Flight Simulator 1.0, was released in January of 1980 for the Apple II and Radio Shack TRS-80. It was developed by Bruce Artwick, and the program would later evolve into Microsoft Flight Simulator.

  Two types of consumer flight simulators exist. General Aviation Flight Simulators are programs that model civilian aircrafts and flight. They include a wide variety of aircraft, including some military models, accurate weather simulation, air traffic control, and thousands of airports and landing strips around the world. Many of these simulators also allow users to add additional content such as new scenery and aircraft. Some popular civilian flight simulators include Flight Unlimited, X-Plane, and Microsoft Flight Simulator.

  The other type of flight simulator is the combat flight simulator. These usually seek to recreate at least one, but sometimes many, military aircraft while allowing the user to engage in combat missions in a variety of time frames. Some popular programs in this category are the Jane's line of combat simulators, the Microsoft Combat Flight Simulators, and Falcon 4.0.

  The levels of realism in these programs can vary. Simulators that focus on a few aircraft can be much more realistic than a simulator with many aircraft, although this isn't always the case. Many combat simulations eschew realism in favor of entertainment value—although, again, this isn't always the case. Falcon 4.0 (1998), a jet combat simulation focusing on the F-16 Falcon, has a strong focus on realism and actual air combat tactics.

  Several flight simulators can be modified. Scenery can be changed or added to the game to add regions or increase the realism of the game. Users can also create real and fictional aircraft and control panels for the game, greatly expanding the air fleet available to simulator pilots. There are some extensive communities on the Internet that are dedicated to creating content to enhance these simulators.

  There are two up-time examples of consumer flight simulation software being used for training. The first instance was in January of 2000 when the United States Navy announced that they would be issuing a modified version of Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2000 to cadets in the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corp. The second example occurred in February of 2002 when the United States FAA approved a full-motion simulator package based around the X-Plane simulator for Commercial Pilot Training.

  Microsoft Flight Simulator and X-Plane

  Microsoft Flight Simulator and X-Plane are worthy of their own section. They are both general aviations simulations and very capable flight simulator packages. They are also the two best consumer flight simulator packages available that could be used to create a simulator as the scenery, aircraft, and flight dynamics can be modified for increased realism. X-Plane includes tools to modify the simulator with the program while Microsoft makes software development kits (SDK) for its flight simulators available on the Internet. As of April 2000, only a few of the Flight Simulator 2000 SDKs were available, not enough to create a trainer for the Gustav or the Belle.

  The fundamental difference between Microsoft's offerings and X-Plane, besides price, is flight dynamics. Like many flight simulators, Microsoft uses pre-calculated tables to determine how an aircraft will perform at various speeds. X-Plane handles aerodynamics differently. Instead of using data tables, X-Plane uses a blade-element theory to calculate the forces acting on the aircraft by breaking down the three-dimensional model. Blade element theory is a series of calculations that were used to model the behavior of propellers.

  The primary version of X-Plane as of March 2000 was X-Plane 5, and it retailed between $75 USD and $199 USD depending on the source you find. At the same time, there were two versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator—Flight Simulator 2000 Standard (FS2000), and Flight Simulator 2000 Professional (FS2000P). FS2000 and FS2000P were very similar. Both required high end computers. FS2000 retailed for about $29.99 USD with the professional version selling for $25 USD more.

  One of the primary complaints for FS2000 and FS2000P was the minimum requirements for the software. While Microsoft's requirements stated that a 166 MHz Pentium was all that was needed, many users found that they could barely use the program with a 400 MHz Pentium II unless they had a 3D Accelerator card. While X-Plane had similar hardware requirements, it also included a "Classic" version of the simulator for users who didn't possess top-of-the-line computers.

  What Grantville Has—And How They Could Use It

  The town of Grantville came back with some flight simulators. These would be the more popular computer simulation programs such as Microsoft Flight Simulator and some combat flight sims like Jane's Fighters Anthology (1997), Falcon 4.0 (1998), and Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator (1998). It's also possible that a copy of X-Plane could be available despite a hefty price tag.

  There are a variety of control systems available for computerized flight simulators. Joysticks range from simple two-axis two-button jobs to complex 3-axis flight sticks with programmable buttons and a throttle control. Flight yokes, which attempt to simulate the controls that a pilot would find in most civilian aircraft, may be available in Grantville, but there will be very few of them.

  It should be possible for the residents of Grantville to produce their own electronic controllers to use in flight simulators by scavenging parts from video game controllers. There should be some old Nintendo and Atari video game system controllers that can be used to hack together simple joysticks, flight yokes, and rudder pedals. It would require someone with knowledge of basic electronics to build the devices and computer programming to develop the software drivers.

  While simple controls should be possible to construct, there probably won't be any custom gauges or displays for any simulators that the air force builds. These are possible with up-time technology, but they require special interfaces and software between the computer and the instrument panel. While one could be hacked together, the resources would be better spent on other projects, such as building radios.

  A 1632 Perspective: Why does Grantville need Flight Simulators

  Grantville will need flight simulators to supplement the air force's training program. The first ones will most likely be based around a computer flight simulator program as it is simpler to model the plane in the software than it is to create a mechanical simulation platform similar to the Link Trainer. But, as the air force grows and the number of available (and functional) computers shrinks, mechanical training methods will need to be devised.

  The main benefit of flight simulators will be as procedure trainers. Procedure trainers are used to teach pilots how to react to specific situations by following a checklist. The computerized flight simulators like Microsoft Flight Simulator include the ability to create instrument and mechanical failures with the benefit of teaching pilots how to react to those situations.

  Without high-quality instruments in the aircraft, most pilots will be restricted to visual flight rules (VFR), and as of the Ring of Fire, the technology does not exist in Grantville that would allow for this type of flight simulation. When those instruments are created and added to new and existing aircraft, flight simulators will become useful for instrument flight training.

  Sources and Points of Interest:

  Brief History of Flight Simulation - http://www.siaa.asn.au/get/2395364797.pdf

  A Brief History of Aircraft Flight Simulation - http://homepage.ntlworld.com/bleep/SimHist7.html

  Link Company History - http://www.link.com/history.html

  Images of Early Simulators - http://www.coe.uh.edu/visualville/linkimag.htm

  Migman's Flight
Simulation Museum - http://www.migman.com/

  History of the Link Trainer (with photos) -http://www.starksravings.com/linktrainer/linktrainer.htm

  CNN Article on Flight Simulators in US Navy - http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/01/26/missile.idg/

  X-Plane FAA Approval Announcement - http://www.x-plane.com/FTD.html

  Flight Simulator 2000 SDK - http://www.microsoft.com/games/flightsimulator/fs2000_devdesk_sdk.asp

  Popular Flight Simulators available at Ring of Fire

  Microsoft Flight Simulator 2000 - http://www.microsoft.com/games/pc/fs2000.aspx

  X-Plane 5 - http://www.x-plane.com/about.html

  My Name is Legion:

  by Iver P. Cooper

  Copying the Books of Grantville

  No down-time visitor can fail to be amazed by the libraries of Grantville. In 1633, Maestro Giacomo Carissimi, writes that the high school has "a library that seems to come out of long-forgotten myths. A fabulous place for the number and for the stunning quality of many of the books." (Toro, "Euterpe, Episode 3," Grantville Gazette, Volume 5). That library, by the way, was open twenty four hours a day, a testament to the level of interest in its holdings. ( 1632, Chap. 24).

  Even the book collections of individual up-timers should impress. At least one large personal library is mentioned in canon; the "Congden library": "The room was practically a library in its own right. Outside of a narrow bed, every wall except one was covered with shelving. Cheap shelving, naturally—Freddie wouldn't have allowed anything else. But the books resting on those shelves weren't particularly cheap. No fancy first editions, of course, and only a few of them were hardcovers. But every shelf was packed with paperbacks of all kinds, ranging from children's books George must have gotten as a little boy all the way through dog-eared copies of a history of the American civil war by someone named Foote and a thick volume on the principles of astronomy." ( 1633, Chap. 17) Another noteworthy collection is the set of military history and wargaming literature assembled by the "Four Musketeers" (Eddie Cantrell and company)(Weber, "In the Navy," Ring of Fire). George Blanton has his son Dave's survival books (Jones, "Anna's Story," Grantville Gazette, Volume1),

  While the printing press greatly increased the affordability of books, and the number of copies in circulation, that didn't mean that large private libraries were commonplace in the early seventeenth century. Book ownership varied greatly, of course, depending on wealth, occupation, religion and location. Generalization is dangerous, but I would guess that about half of the European down-timers own no books at all. (A substantial percentage of artisans and even merchants lack a library.) Most of the rest own just two or three books, one being the Bible. Less than one in ten will have more than five or ten books (Hall; McCraig, Maxted).

  Naturally, the down-timers are interested in history. William Wettin has "checked out—usually several times over—every single book relevant to early American history and political theory there is. And British." ( 1633, Chap. 12) King Charles knows about Cromwell; Richelieu, about Turenne and Mazarini.

  Science, too. Doctor Gribbleflotz learned how to construct a wet cell battery from an unidentified up-time science book. (Probably a children's book, since it has "large printing and colorful pictures".) (Offord, "Dr. Phil Zinkens A Bundle," Grantville Gazette, Volume 7) In 1633, John George of Saxony is trying to capitalize on the revelation of the secret of porcelain manufacture in some Grantville text. (Pedersen, "A Question of Faith," Grantville Gazette, Volume 8.)

  But the down-timers aren't just reading the encyclopedias, the histories and the science books. Clearly, the "Ram" has read "Doc" Smith's Galactic Patrol ("Helmut, speaking for Boskone"). Wallenstein likes mysteries.

  The down-timers who have money will commission copies of books of interest to them, to the extent their budget allows. By Spring, 1933, Cardinal Richelieu has already acquired books from Grantville, and "had printed copies made and more securely bound. . . ." He explains to Mazarini, "Hand-copying would have engaged every stationer and monk in Paris for weeks and the originals were too fragile to pass around. So I ordered them typeset and the illustrations carefully cut by the best engravers I could find."

  Not everyone can send agents to Grantville. But down-time printers are going to be looking for books which might have a large enough audience to be money-makers if published. And up-timers have had works printed for reasons of their own. Canon reveals some of what has been copied and printed . . .

  an abbreviated German translation of Robert's Rules of Order ( 1634: The Ram Rebellion Chap 32).

  three Agatha Christie mysteries (Robison, "Mightier Than the Sword," Grantville Gazette, Volume 6)

  the Shorter Catechism in English (DeMarce, "Pastor Kastenmayer's Revenge," Grantville Gazette, Volume 3)

  Paine's Common Sense ( 1634: The Ram Rebellion)

  The Book of Mormon ( 1634: The Ram Rebellion)

  Narrow Gauge at War (Lutz and Zeek, "Elizabeth," Grantville Gazette, Volume 8)

  RND- and MD-level training materials (Ewing, "An Invisible War," Grantville Gazette, Volume 2).

  Duplicating the Books of Grantville

  What would be involved in making one copy of every distinct title in Grantville? We will start by determining the "copying power" of the would-be copyists, which is a function of

  1) the speed with which the book can be copied (in words or pages an hour)?

  2) how much time can the copyist devote (in hours/year) and maintain that speed?

  3) the number of copyists employed.

  We will then compare it with the "wordage" of those distinct titles. To estimate that, we need to know:

  4) how many books are there in Grantville? (counting the public library, the three school libraries, the books owned by the various businesses and churches, and the personal libraries of the residents)

  5) how many of those books are distinct titles?

  6) what is the average length of the books (in words)?

  Copying Methods

  We need to distinguish how quickly a single copyist can make the first copy (transcription speed) , versus making each of a large number of additional copies (publication speed). A computer-cum-laser printer has the same transcription speed as an electric typewriter, but a higher publication speed. Manual typesetting is slow, even compared to handcopying, but once the type is set, you can rapidly print a large number of copies. So conventional printing has a very slow transcription speed, but a high publication speed. For speed comparisons, see table 1 below.

  The fundamental equation is

  Effective Copying Speed = Individual Copying Speed X Number of Copyists

  In other words, brute force (increasing the number of copyists) can compensate for a low individual copying (transcription or publication) speed. Contrariwise, if a copying method has a limited number of copyists or copying equipment (e.g., typing is limited by the number of typists and typewriters), it may not be as effective as an intrinsically slower method.

  There are two ways in which machines can improve the duplication process:

  –directly, by increasing transcription speed (typing vs. hand copying); and

  –indirectly, in that if they are used to make multiple copies (whether that be by mimeograph, letterpress, photo-offset, dot matrix, laser, or inkjet printing), then the cost of copying the original work can be spread over more purchasers, which means that you can afford to hire more copyists and split the work so it goes faster. Indeed, the ability to generate multiple copies cheaply may determine whether the work is copied in the first place.

  If a particular book is in high demand, then it is likely that it will be copied by a method with a high publication speed, even if that method is costly or has a slow transcription speed.

  Machines can be divided into three categories: the up-time typewriters, computer systems, mimeographs, etc. which made it through the RoF; the down-time, possibly geared down, equivalents; and machines which already existed in the early seventeenth century (printi
ng presses, pantographs).

  Particularly for the first category, we have the following issues:

  1) Does it make economic sense for the owner to devote his/her equipment to this use? (for example, the owners of the Pentium IIIs might think they can get a higher price/rental for them for use for say, running an airplane simulator, or for engineering design, or for massive database management, than so their printers can be used to make copies of books. This is a comparative advantage argument.)

  2) Regardless of economic sense, will the owner allow it? (I am not sure that my son would give up his computer, and thus his ability to play computer games, even if he would be given a lot of money. Since he would want to spend the money on computer games.)

  3) How soon will the up-time machines run out of supplies, or break down? Can we duplicate the supplies and spare parts?

  4) Will we be rate-limited by the number of trained operators or machines available?

  Cost, of course, is important. If you aren't copying the work yourself, then you must hire a copyist, whether that be a scribe or a typist. In theory, it shouldn't cost more to hire ten typists than one, since the work should be completed ten times more quickly, but because there is a limited pool of typists, you could end up paying a premium for speed.

  Machines increase transcription or publication speed, but they too have a price. If you have to buy a mimeograph or a typewriter in order to use it, then you have to be able to justify the capital cost. Cost is less of a factor if you can rent the equipment. (Gorg's "Sewing Circle" says that by October 1631, all the sewing machines in Grantville had been rented out. That's a good precedent.) Note that in the early days of typewriting, if you hired a typist, he or she supplied the typewriter. (That is still true, of course, for students hiring freelance typists to type their dissertations.) If a machine is used to duplicate more than one book, its purchase price can be spread over all the books.