A Reference State procedure defines the full position, velocity, acceleration, and attitude of an aircraft. You can copy the data to define a Reference State procedure from the Mission Profile, from another Reference State procedure, or by right-clicking on an established profile. A Reference State procedure can be inserted at the beginning of a mission to define existing flight conditions, or at any other point in a mission to direct the aircraft to achieve the specified flight conditions. In this way, a Reference State can replace the need to build a full profile to get to a specific point. If added to an existing flight profile, the aircraft uses Basic Point to Point methodology to arrive at the Reference State's position while satisfying all of the other specified conditions.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Start Time | The date and time that the reference state begins. |
| Paste Reference State Procedure | Click to paste the definition of the reference state from the reference state currently stored on the clipboard, if you have copied one. |
| Paste Profile Data | Click to paste the definition of the reference state from the profile data currently stored on the clipboard, if you copied any. |
| Performance Mode |
Select the type of motion that the aircraft is engaged in at the reference state from the drop-down menu. The performance mode influences the selection of procedures that the aircraft can perform following the reference state in the same way that a procedure of that type would. For example, if you select the Hover performance mode, only a VTOL procedure will be valid after the reference state. The options are:
|
| Reference Frame | Select whether the reference state will be defined relative to the air (Wind Frame) or ground (Earth Frame). The reference frame determines the availability, for editing, of some of the parameters of the procedure. |
| Fuel Flow |
The amount of fuel used per unit of time selected, at sea level. If the performance model being used has valid aerodynamics and propulsion data, such as with the Basic Fixed Wing, Advanced Fixed Wing, or Advanced missile strategies, clicking the Update button will query the performance model and set an appropriate value given the set state. |
Position
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Latitude | The waypoint's latitude. |
| Longitude | The waypoint's longitude. |
| Relative... | Click to define the position as a relative waypoint. Specify the latitude, longitude, radial, and range in the window that opens. |
| Waypoint... | Click to define the position using a waypoint from a catalog. |
| Use Aircraft Default Cruise Altitude | Select this check box to define the altitude of the procedure using the default cruise altitude specified in the currently selected cruise performance model. |
| Altitude | If Use Aircraft Default Cruise Altitude has been cleared, define the aircraft's altitude - using the Mean Sea Level (MSL) reference - for the procedure. The altitude is constrained by the lowest ceiling value of the active performance models in the current mission phase. |
Speeds
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Airspeed | The aircraft's speed; select a reference from the drop-down menu - true airspeed (TAS True Airspeed: the speed that the aircraft is moving relative to the airmass that it is flying in.), calibrated airspeed (CAS Calibrated Airspeed: the speed reported by the airspeed indicator, corrected for position and instrument error.), equivalent airspeed (EAS Equivalent Airspeed: the airspeed at sea level (International Standard Atmosphere) at which the dynamic pressure is equal to the dynamic pressure at the aircraft's current true airspeed and altitude.), or Mach The ratio of the aircraft's speed and the speed of sound at the aircraft's altitude, with local atmospheric conditions. number. |
| Groundspeed | The aircraft's speed relative to the ground. |
| Altitude Rate | The constant rate at which the aircraft will climb and descend once established in a steady climb or descent. |
| Flight Path Angle | The initial pitch angle of the flight path. |
| TAS Dot | The true airspeed acceleration or deceleration of the aircraft at the reference state. |
| Groundspeed Dot | The groundspeed acceleration or deceleration of the aircraft at the reference state. |
Heading / Course
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Heading The direction that the aircraft is pointing. | The direction that the aircraft is pointing. |
| Course | The direction that the aircraft is traveling. |
| Heading Dot | The rate of change of the aircraft's heading at the reference state. |
| Course Dot | The rate of change of the aircraft's course at the reference state. |
Attitude (Dynamic / Untrimmed)
The values in these fields are unconstrained by the aerodynamics properties of the aircraft. To ensure that these values are computed with respect to the trimmed performance of the aircraft, use the Profile Data window to copy reference state data to the clipboard, and paste those computed values into the procedure. To override or ignore trimmed performance, simply entered the desired values in these fields.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Roll Angle | The aircraft's bank angle. |
| AOA | The aircraft's angle of attack The angle between the body X axis and the projection of the velocity vector onto the body XZ plane. The velocity vector is the velocity of the object as observed in the object's central body fixed coordinate system.. |
| Sideslip | The aircraft's yaw angle. |
| Pitch Rate | The aircraft's pitch rate. |
| Push / Pull G | The G force on the aircraft resulting from its attitude. |