VGT Point

A VGT Point procedure is used to model the aircraft coordinating its flight with another vehicle object in the scenario. This procedure is similar to the Formation/Recover procedure, but sacrifices some degree of control over flight parameters to allow you to fly the aircraft relative to any vehicle object in the scenario.

Start Time

The time at which the formation begins. The Minimum Time and Maximum Time fields display the minimum and maximum times in the scenario at which formation between the site vehicle and the aircraft might be possible. You can manually enter a value in the Start Time field. For more information on the options available for time instances and start times, see Time Options.

Formation Point

The position - relative to the site vehicle - that the aircraft will be locked onto while in formation; click to open the Select Position Point window to choose a different reference point. The aircraft will hold formation at this point without condition. Select Interpolate Point Pos / Vel to allow STK's Aviator capability to use interpolation to determine the formation point's speed and position; this option should speed up the processing time required to calculate the procedure. Click Reset to reset the point definition to the default.

Fuel Flow

Field Description
Fuel Flow Source

The fuel flow of the aircraft while in formation; select from the following options:

  • Takeoff Perf Model - uses the Takeoff performance model's setting.
  • Cruise Perf Model - uses the Cruise performance model's setting.
  • Landing Perf Model - uses the Landing performance model's setting.
  • VTOL Perf Model - uses the VTOL performance model's setting.
  • Aero/Propulsion - uses the fuel flow calculated by the aerodynamics and propulsion strategies defined in the active acceleration performance model; if the acceleration performance model is not set to calculate fuel flow, then fuel flow will not be calculated for this performance model, either.
  • Override - manually specify the fuel flow in the Override Fuel Flow field.
Consider Acceleration for Fuel Flow Select to modify the calculated fuel flow rate according to the acceleration of the aircraft during the procedure.

Flight Mode

Field Description
Flight Mode

Select the type of motion that the aircraft is engaged in at the reference state from the drop-down menu. The options are:

  • Forward Flight - Climb
  • Forward Flight - Cruise
  • Forward Flight - Descend
  • Hover
  • Landing
  • Takeoff

The flight mode governs aerodynamics and propulsion calculations during the procedure and the attitude of the aircraft during transitions.
Display Step Time The time interval at which ephemeris is generated for display purposes.