shenc0411/vr-flight-simulator

VR Flight Simulator using Unity and X-Plane 10

VR Flight Simulator

An attempt at creating a virtual reality flight simulator solely using the Oculus Rift Touch controllers (and rudder pedals if available). The aircraft is a Piper PA-28 Archer II (presented as a low poly model in Unity).

Getting Started

Configuring Unity

1. Download Unity Project from Project Page
2. Extract the folder from the .ZIP
3. Open the folder as a new project in Unity

Configuring X-Plane 10

1. Configure Graphics Settings

   • Select Settings from the menu bar
   • Select Rendering Options
   • Under the Presets section:
     • select Set to minimum
   • Under the STUFF TO DRAW section:
     • deselect runways follow terrain contours (this is to ensure that the runway terrain mapping matches that of the Unity program)

2. Configure Data Output Screen

   • Select Settings from the menu bar
   • Select Data Input & Output
   • Under Data Set:
     • Select the leftmost check box (labeled as Internet via UDP) for the following data sets:
     • speeds (#3)
     • pitch, roll, headings (#17)
     • Set the UDP rate to 49.0/sec

3. Configure Net Connections Screen

   • Select the Data tab
   • Under IP for Data Output:
     • enter the localhost IP (127.0.0.1)
     • enter the port number as 55555
     • select the IP of data receiver for (Data Input & Output screen: Data-Set and Dataref-Out tabs) checkbox
   • Under UDP Ports
     • set the port that we receive on field to 49,000 (which is also the default value)
     • set the port that we send from field to 49,001 (which is also the default value)
     • ensure that the port that we send to iPad from is not either of the values listed above

Deployment

Running X-Plane

1. Ensure X-Plane is configured properly
2. Before starting Unity, start X-Plane using the Cessna 172 Aircraft (ideally, you would use a Piper PA-28 II but X-Plane doesn't provide it as a default aircraft so the Cessna 172 has the closest handling specifications)
3. Press the b key to disengage the brake

Running Unity

1. Open the flightSimulator project (or whatever name you called the project) in Unity
2. Once you have configured and started X-Plane, press the Play button

Built With

• NewtonVR