Adding a new prop physics model?

[tridge]

Is there any way to load a new propeller physics model?
I'd like to be able to create a new propeller model based on the data here:
http://m-selig.ae.illinois.edu/props/propDB.html
that should give us more accurate modelling, which is quite critical for designing VTOL aircraft.
From some tests I've done today I think the APC Electric prop model in RealFlight is quite different from the data in that database.

 

[Jeremy Babbar-Sebens]

You can add a new prop, but it is unlikely to match the results from Prof. Selig's group. This is because the RealFlight model is theoretical to allow predictive physics, especially in novel attitudes, where the PropDB project was empirical. I don't recall if that study covered differences in the thrust and freestream direction.

Creating a new prop requires making a new 3D model (or recycling an existing one) and then text-editing the .propeller file that results from that creation. The parameters are not entirely obvious, but can be worked through.

 

[tridge]

Thanks Jeremy! I hadn't seen the .propeller file. I now see a sample here:
https://forums.realflight.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=54699&d=1432427775
is it possible to extract the .propeller files of the builtin props somehow? I'd be interested in looking at the APC one.

 

[Jeremy Babbar-Sebens]

Here's some documentation on how custom propellers work:
https://forums.realflight.com/showthread.php?t=28299

If you select the APC Electric as your basis when importing your custom propeller, you should end up with a .propeller file that is identical to the APC Electric.