SSA-2031 Spirit of the Pilgrim Owner's Manual

Second Skies is proud to present our most advanced airship to date, the SSA-2031 Spirit of the Pilgrim. Features include:

• 61.375 meters long, 20.5 meters wide, 26.875 meters tall
• Capable of carrying 6 passengers (including the pilot)
• Engine sounds and textures that vary depending on speed.
• Moving control surfaces (tail fins).
• Three different control modes: Flight Sim, Inverted, and FPS (first person shooter) modes.
• Multiple camera views, including great flight-sim favorites "tower cam" and "fly-by" camera mode.
• Programmable autopilot capable of flying the ship on courses crossing any number of sims, with or without a pilot or passengers onboard.
  • Continuous loop, or the new "guided tour" mode: wait at start for avatars to board, take them on a tour automatically after boarding
  • "Off your left you'll see..." -- set text to be spoken at each course mark.
  • Web integration for advanced users: set a URL, then monitor or control your airship from an external server. (Simple PHP example included.)
• Easy color and skin selection, plus modify permisions so you can apply your own skins or recolor to taste.
• Large, easy to read advertising panel, static or side-scrolling for more or larger ads
• Capable of giving out notecards and/or landmarks when touched.
• Ejection mechanism for unwanted passengers.
• Autoparking feature to return your airship to precisely the position and rotation you like it in when not in use.
• Mooring feature using the included Mooring Tower, an alternative way to precisely position parked airships, as well as a fun way to park it.
• Positions itself next to nearest mooring tower on rez (if one is located within 40m of the rez point).

All our airships are sold with copy and modify permissions, so we recommend you keep a copy of the airship as you first received it, before making any modifications. Whenever you modify your airship significantly, take a copy of the modified one and keep that in your inventory as well. Various tragedies can befall vehicles in Second Life, so it's best to always have a backup of your airship, configured the way you like it.

A copiable mooring tower is included with the airship. The mooring tower uses an electromagnetic pad to attach to the nose of the airship. When mooring is enabled (see Parking), you can end your flight by flying up to the tower -- you will automatically moor as soon as you bump your nose on the pad. You may also make your own mooring tower if you like, the only requirement is that it be named "Tall Mooring Tower".

Commands

In order to access the advanced features of your airship, left-click anywhere on the ship to bring up the flight computer's control panel display. From here, select the subsystem and then the command you wish to invoke. These dialogs will only appear for people who can pilot the airship: the owner, or people with the same active group as the airship's group. (Set the airship's group to none if you don't want anyone but yourself flying it.)

Camera

The Camera menu option is only present while you are piloting the airship. From here, you can control your view of the airship. You can also switch to mouselook at any time if you prefer an interior, first-person view while flying (the airship controls remain the same regardless of mouselook or camera view).

Camera: Normal Cam

This is the default camera, which remains in the exact same position relative to the gondola during flight. Since it always looks straight ahead, and follows the airship precisely, it is the easiest to see your course and speed with. It's also placed to make it easy to see where the gondola is relative to things in the world, however, it's in close enough that it can be difficult to see if you nose is bumping something, and you can't see your tail at all in this view.

Camera: Follow Cam

This camera follows the airship some distance behind. It's far enough back to get a better view of the airship overall, and it lags slightly in movement so you can see the airship turning and moving in space, although it can make judging your exact heading more difficult since it doesn't necessarily point in the same direction as the nose of the airship.

Camera: Fly-by Cam

When in this mode, the camera is placed at a fixed point in space ahead of the airship, and focuses on the airship as it flys by. Once the airship moves a certain distance away from it, a new fixed point is picked and the process repeats, giving you a series of fly-by views of the airship as it travels along.

Camera: Tower Cam

This mode only works at airports that support it (such as the one in the Skies of Tomorrow sim). When you switch to tower cam, you get a view from inside the local air-traffic control tower, and can watch the aircraft fly from within the tower. Included with the purchase of the airship is a "Tower Cam" object you can place at your own airfield (or anywhere else you like) to be able to use this camera view there. Multiple towers can be located in the same sim, although in that case they should limit to range in which they respond to airspace queries. (Scripts in the "Tower Cam" are full permissions, so you can see how it works and modify it to limit its range, or add "Tower Cam" support to your own scripts if you like.)

Controls

The SSA-2031 is highly maneuverable for an airship, thanks to its powerful engines, moving control surfaces, and ability to alter its buoyancy quickly. The airship's moving tail fins, which cause the craft to pitch or turn while moving, contribute nothing while the ship is stationary. However, it is still possible to turn the ship while it is stationary using the engines, one in forward and one in reverse. The altitude can change altitude even when stationary by altering its buoyancy, but it won't rise or fall as quickly as it can under power.

The airship may be reconfigured for one of three different styles of flight controls. In all modes, turning left and right is controled by either the left and right arrow keys or the A and D keys on the keyboard, but which keys control climbing, diving, and the throttle vary.

Controls: Flight Sim

In this mode, the actions of the arrow keys or the WASD keys simulate the movement of a typical aircraft's joystick. Pressing left (A) or right (D) moves the stick left or right, turning the ship in the appropriate direction. Pressing forward (Up Arrow or W) moves the stick forward, causing the aircraft to dive, and pulling back on the stick (Down Arrow or S) causes the ship to climb. The Page Up and Page Down keys, or E and C, can be used to control the throttle, increasing or decreasing it in 10% incrementments up to 100% or down to -20% for backwards flight. This is the default control mode.

Controls: Inverted

The Inverted mode works exactly like Flight Sim mode with the exception that climb and dive are reversed. This is the reverse of what experienced airplane pilots expect, but it's more intuitive for some people. Also, if you watch the way the tail fins move while flying, this mode actually most closely matches keyboard to tail fin movement. It also matches the movement of the nose of the craft (left arrow to turn the nose left, up arrow to turn the nose up, etc.)

Controls: FPS

The FPS, or "First Person Shooter" mode, works very differently from the first two modes. The left/right arrows or A/D keys still turn the craft, but all the other keys are different. Up Arrow or W moves the craft forward by taking the engines to 100% as long as it is held down, and the engines stop as soon as the key is released. Down Arrow or S take the engines to -20% while held down for backwards movement, again only as long as the key is held down. Page Up/Page Down or E/C cause the craft to climb or dive respectively.

Ad Panels

The SSA-2031 comes with a pair of static or side-scrolling ad panels that can be hidden or shown. The advertising area is 30 meters by 7.5 meters, and angled downwards for ease of reading by people on the ground. To use the ad panels to relay your own messages, first create them in the graphics editor of your choice, upload them to Second Life, then show the ad panels on the ship and drag your own texture onto the ad panels. Each panel can receive a different texture if you like, but they must be the same format. There are three supported formats: short, medium, and long, corresponding to aspect ratios of 4:1, 8:1, and 16:1 respectively. In short format, the entire message will display at once, whereas in medium or long format, only part of the message will be visible at any one moment, although the side-scrolling will cause the entire message to be seen over time.

When used for advertising, it's a good idea to put a notecard or landmark into the airship. When people other than the owner or group members left-click on the airship, they will receive a copy of the notecard or landmark. If the airship contains both a notecard and a landmark in inventory, the notecard takes precedence.

Ad Panels: Hide

This command hides the ad panels.

Ad Panels: Show

This command reveals the ad panels. The ad panels are self-lit ("full bright").

Ad Panels: Translucent

This command turns the ad panels translucent. In translucent mode, they are not as bright, and the texture of the airship can be seen through them,

Ad Panels: Short

Adjusts the ad panel for displaying short format (4:1 aspect ratio) messages. The texture will be 30 meters long by 7.5 meters high, and displayed in its entirety.

Ad Panels: Medium

Adjusts the ad panel for displaying medium format (8:1 aspect ratio) messages. The texture will be 60 meters long by 7.5 meters high, with only half shown at any given moment. The display will side-scroll to reveal the entire texture over time.

Ad Panels: Long

Adjusts the ad panel for long format (16:1 aspect ratio) messages. The texture will be 120 meters long by 7.5 meters high, with only a quarter of it shown at any given moment. The display will side-scroll to reveal the entire texture over time.

Skin

The airship is configurable in appearance. It comes with twelve different textures that can be applied to the ship for different looks. Select one from this menu to change the look of the craft. To replace some menu entries with your own textures, using SL's edit controls, drag the texture you wish to add into the Content tab, then name it appropriately. The ship is a little fussy on how the texture must be named. The format is: "Name,<Repeats>,<Offsets>,Rotation". Look at the existing textures for examples. Since you have copy permissions on the airship, you can easily make a copy and experiment until you get it right without harming your original. You can also just retexture the airship using SL's edit controls, since you have modify permissions, but textures applied manually won't appear on the "Skin" menu unless the procedure above is followed.

Body Color, Tail Color, and Gondola Color

The airship is sold will full modify permissions, so you can alter it to taste. However, in order to facilitate some of the most common changes you're likely to want to make, the color of the various parts, there are commands in the menu for recoloring these. For example, just select "Body Color" to change the body color, then pick a color on the next menu. Of course, if you don't like the provided selection of colors, you can use SL's object editing tool to recolor or retexture any prim on the airship to taste. Be careful to check "Edit linked parts" or "Select texture" to select just the parts you want to change, though. If you're not comfortable with SL's editing tools, you might want to just stick with the menus, but don't be afraid to experiment, your airship is sold with copy permissions so if you mess it up, you can always delete it and rez a fresh new copy.

Parking

The main computer of the airship can be programmed to remember precisely how you prefer your airship to be positioned while not in use, and to return to that position automatically when you're done flying, using the commands in this section.

Parking: Park

Rotate and position your airship to its programmed parking position. If issued while in flight, pilot and passengers will first be unseated for safety reasons (the autoparking ride is not as smooth as normal autopilot navigation, and can pose a serious hazzard to passengers). Note that this command will work across sim boundries and even from great distances, although we can't guarentee a safe return in all cases. Intercontinental use is not recommended.

Parking: Set Position

Use this command to set or change the parked position for the ship. This command must be issued at least once before the Park command becomes available.

Parking: Mooring On

Use this command while in flight to enable mooring. When mooring is enabled, the next time you bump the nose of the craft against a mooring tower, the airship will automatically park as if attached to the tower's electromagnetic mooring disk. A mooring tower is included with the purchase of the airship, with copy permissions so you may place as many as you like.

Parking: Mooring Off

If mooring has previously been enabled, this command disables it. Note that mooring automatically disables after each successful mooring, so you're unlikely to ever need to use this command. But it's there just in case.

Autopilot

One of the most advanced features of the airship is the ability of the onboard computer to fly the craft on its own, once programmed with a course to follow. The SSA-2031 also features an HTTP hookup for the flight computer, allowing courses to be directed from an external server rather and programmed manually into the system.

To program a course, fly the course once yourself, using the "Add Mark" command every time you reach a point you wish to turn or say something to the passengers. Once you're done, you can engage the autopilot loop around the course continuously, or you can tell it to wait at its parking spot for passengers to board, and fly the course once they do.

Autopilot: Add Mark

When you use this command, the current position of the airship is added as a mark in the autopilot course. You are also given the opportunity to set the text to be spoken by the flight computer when it reaches this point while flying the course. You must use the "Add Mark" command any place where you want the airship to make a turn in its course, and you can use it anywhere you want it to say something (like, "Look to your left to see our state-of-the-art entertainment complex").

Autopilot: Set URL

This command only appears if there are no marks in the autopilot, so if you have a programmed course and wish to switch to using a web-directed course, use the "Clear Marks" option first to get this option to appear. When you use this option, you can set a URL to an external server that will be queried by the autopilot for course flying instructions. This requires you to set up some remote scripts to direct the airship around, but the interface is very simple. An example in PHP is included in a separate file.

Autopilot: Clear Marks

This command clears the course marks in the computer's memory, allowing you to start programming a brand new course.

Autopilot: List Marks

This command lists the coordinates of the existing course marks in the computer's memory.

Autopilot: Fast Speed, Cruise, and Slow Speed

These commands set the speed the airship will follow a programmed course. They correspond to 100%, 50%, and 20% throttle respectively. Slower is better for sightseeing and guided tours unless a lot of ground needs to be covered. The default is "Cruise" (50% throttle).

Autopilot: Engage

This command only appears when a course is programmed or a URL set. Selecting it will start the airship flying on its course. In this mode, the airship will fly continuously in a loop, flying to the first course mark after reaching the last and continuing. Note: You do not need to be on the airship to issue this command, the autopilot will happily fly off on its own if requested. You can also disembark while the airship is on autopilot and it will continue flying on its own.

Autopilot: Wait

This command only appears when a course is programmed or a URL is set, and you have set a parking position (see Parking). When in this mode, the airship goes to its parking position and waits for people to board. As soon as someone boards, it announces that it will take off shortly, and 15 seconds after the last person boards, it begins flying the programmed course. When it reaches the final course mark in this mode, it ejects all the passengers and returns to its parking position for the next tour.

Autopilot: Disengage

This command only appears while the autopilot is engaged. Selecting it disengages the autopilot, returning the craft to manual control.

Eject

The SSA-2031 is capable of carrying up to six people in its gondola. This command can be used to eject them all, or selectively eject individual passengers.

Eject: Everybody

Ejects everyone aboard the ship.

Eject: Pilot

Ejects the pilot. The airship will become stationary at this point, unless the autopilot is engaged, in which case it'll keep flying on its own.

Eject: Passenger X (1-5)

Ejects passenger X (seats are numbered from left to right, front to back).

Afterword

I hope you enjoy your Second Skies airship. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company began producing airship envelopes in 1911 and introduced its own blimp, The Pilgrim, in 1925. The Pilgrim was named after a winner of the America's Cup yacht race, because Goodyear CEO Paul W. Litchfield viewed the airships as being like yachts in the sky. A number of America's Cup winners have been named "Spirit of <something>", leading to a number of Goodyear Blimps carrying names that started with "Spirit of ...". The SSA-2031 is our first physical airship to have dimensions and an overall appearance that closely match real blimps (about 3m over the length of the GZ-20 series blimps), and thus, I felt it was appropriate to name it in honor of Goodyear's first blimp, since I consider it our first "true blimp", and with reference to the naming style that has graced so many of their fine airships. So I happily present to you the Spirit of the Pilgrim. Enjoy your journeys together.

Any comments or questions, IM Gaius Goodliffe.