FOSSPicks
Model simulator
CRRCSim
The brilliant flight simulator, FlightGear, gets a lot of positive publicity, because it's a hugely ambitious open source project that works. It's complex, comprehensive, and deeply immersive, allowing anyone with the bandwidth plus the storage to hold its huge amounts of terrain data to fly many different aircraft types across almost anywhere in the world. However, FlightGear isn't the only flight simulator available. We also have CRRCSim. CRRCSim isn't quite as ambitious as FlightGear, but that's literally because of its scale – it simulates flying model aircraft in a field (or over a beach) rather than real aircraft across the American Midwest.
This lack of scale also means that CRRCSim has a real and very practical use, because one of the hardest elements of learning to fly model aircraft is getting an intuition of where left, right, up, and down might be while you're standing in the middle of a field looking at your aircraft flying towards you. It's cheaper to crash two dozen virtual models than it is to crash the real thing, and CRRCSim really helps you get your bearings. This means that even though it has not been updated since drones took most of this thinking out of the process, it's still a valuable tool. You can select your environment, use a USB controller, choose between different aircraft, create your own models and fly them, and even fly with your mouse and mouse wheel if you have nothing else at hand. It also is great fun, as you can quickly restart with a new piece of kit and test it out flying into the headwind. There's even a plan view of the wind, so you can take your experimentation further and see how you're able to handle the changing environment.
Project Website
https://sourceforge.net/projects/crrcsim
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Endless OS 6 has Arrived
After more than a year since the last update, the latest release of Endless OS is now available for general usage.
-
Fedora Asahi 40 Remix Available for Macs with Apple Silicon
If you've been anticipating KDE's Plasma 6 for your Apple Silicon-powered Mac, then you're in luck.
-
Red Hat Adds New Deployment Option for Enterprise Linux Platforms
Red Hat has re-imagined enterprise Linux for an AI future with Image Mode.
-
OSJH and LPI Release 2024 Open Source Pros Job Survey Results
See what open source professionals look for in a new role.
-
Proton 9.0-1 Released to Improve Gaming with Steam
The latest release of Proton 9 adds several improvements and fixes an issue that has been problematic for Linux users.
-
So Long Neofetch and Thanks for the Info
Today is a day that every Linux user who enjoys bragging about their system(s) will mourn, as Neofetch has come to an end.
-
Ubuntu 24.04 Comes with a “Flaw"
If you're thinking you might want to upgrade from your current Ubuntu release to the latest, there's something you might want to consider before doing so.
-
Canonical Releases Ubuntu 24.04
After a brief pause because of the XZ vulnerability, Ubuntu 24.04 is now available for install.
-
Linux Servers Targeted by Akira Ransomware
A group of bad actors who have already extorted $42 million have their sights set on the Linux platform.
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.