Altea erospace XR Flight User manual

XR Flight Operations Manual Version 3.0
Copyright 2006-2018 Douglas Beachy. All Rights Reserved.
1
XR Flight Operations Manual
Version 3.0
Publication Date: 12-February-2018
Vessel Versions: XR5 1.13 / XR1 1.15 / XR2 1.10
Copyright 2006-2018 Douglas Beachy. All Rights Reserved.
This software is freeware and may not be sold.
Web: http://www.alteaaerospace.com
Email: mailto:[e-mail]
Orbiter Forum: dbeachy1 (http://orbiter-forum.com)

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Table of Contents
DG-XR1 Development Team .................................................................. 3
XR5 Vanguard Development Team.......................................................... 3
XR2 Ravenstar Development Team ......................................................... 3
Voice Actress (all vessels) ..................................................................... 3
DG-XR1 Beta Testers ............................................................................ 4
XR5 Vanguard Beta Testers ................................................................... 4
XR2 Ravenstar Beta Testers................................................................... 4
XR Flight Operations Manual Translations ................................................ 5
Acknowledgements ............................................................................... 5
Copyright ............................................................................................ 6
Summary ............................................................................................ 7
Features.......................................................................................................7
Requirements .....................................................................................11
Installation .........................................................................................11
Configuring Your XR Vessel...........................................................................16
Cheat Codes ............................................................................................... 20
Flying your XR Vessel...........................................................................20
Structural and Thermal Limits ...............................................................24
Custom Shortcut Keys..........................................................................25
XR Vessel Custom Shortcut Keys ...................................................................25
XR Attitude Hold Shortcut Keys .....................................................................27
XR Descent Hold Shortcut Keys ..................................................................... 27
XR Airspeed Hold Shortcut Keys ....................................................................28
Center-of-Gravity Shifting ....................................................................28
Using the Multi-Display-Area (MDA) .......................................................29
Walkthrough: Launch from KSC to Low-Earth-Orbit .................................30
Fuel and Oxygen Consumables Management...........................................36
Replenishing Fuel and LOX Tanks ..................................................................36
XR2/XR5 Only: Using Payload Bay Fuel/LOX Tanks ..........................................38
Coolant Temperature Management ........................................................39
APU Fuel Management .........................................................................41
M.E.T. and Interval Timers ...................................................................42
Damage and Warning Display ...............................................................43
Attitude Hold Autopilot .........................................................................44
Reentry Walkthrough ................................................................................... 46
Descent Hold Autopilot (Hovering and Landing).......................................49
Airspeed Hold Autopilot ........................................................................50
Using the Docking Camera (XR5 Only) ...................................................52
Payload Management (XR2/XR5 Only)....................................................54
UCGO Support ............................................................................................ 55
Grappling Payloads ...................................................................................... 55
Deploying Payloads......................................................................................58
Using the Payload Editor............................................................................... 60
Creating Your Own Payload Module........................................................62
Publishing Your Payload Module.....................................................................65
XR2-01_Bay/XR5-01_Bay Vessel Saved in Scenario Files..........................65

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Installing and Using a Custom Skin........................................................65
Submitting a Feature Request or Bug Report...........................................66
Appendix A: Notes...............................................................................67
Appendix B: Technical Data ..................................................................68
The Future Is Now.
DG-XR1 Development Team
Douglas Beachy
Systems design, C++ code, 2D graphics, dialogs, exterior
textures, documentation
Don Gallagher
3D mesh tweaks, hover doors, SCRAM doors
XR5 Vanguard Development Team
Douglas Beachy
Concept, systems design, C++ code, 2D graphics, dialogs,
documentation
Russell Hicks
3D modeling, internal cockpit textures, model design, cargo
module models, some animation code
PennyBlack
Ship textures
Carmen A
Fuel, LOX, & H20 cargo modules
Tom Fisher
AIA cargo module
XR2 Ravenstar Development Team
Douglas Beachy
Systems Design, C++ code, 2D graphics, dialogs,
documentation.
Steve “Coolhand”
Tyler
Concept, model design, 3D modeling, textures, cargo module
models, Lee and Kara astronaut models, XR2 turbopack
models, custom main/hover/RCS/SCRAM sound effects.
Voice Actress (all vessels)
•Sally Beaumont (http://www.sallybeaumont.com/)

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DG-XR1 Beta Testers
•Cale Nicholson (Cale)
•Chris Mueller (BuckTheInfernal)
•Christopher Turner (CHRISTU)
•Don Gallagher (Donamy)
•David A. Seiver (BigDAS)
•Franconis Wisard (Zebuwin)
•Jim Ladmo (Delboy)
•Jógvan Trondesen (C3PO)
•Luca Rizzardi (rigel489)
•Matt Picio (Matt P.)
•Michael Sturm (Sturmn8r)
•Michael Weatherton (TWIFOSP)
•Mohd Ali (computerex)
•Patrice Fort (Fort)
•Steve Symonds (Scorpius)
•Zachary Grillo (Jgrillo2002)
•Zachstar Brown (Zachstar)
XR5 Vanguard Beta Testers
•Callum Massey (kais58)
•Charles Singh
•Don Gallagher (Donamy)
•Jógvan Trondesen (C3PO)
•John Mark Simpson (Duke)
•Julian Soulages (jsoulages)
•Michael Scott (Zaphod)
•Neil Forrester (scarecrow)
•Randy Stearns (yagni01)
•Russell Hicks (Russ_H)
•Stefan Sondermann (gnome_gemini)
•Tom Fisher (wehaveaproblem)
XR2 Ravenstar Beta Testers
•Ben Stickan (TSPenguin)
•Blair Hoddinott (orwellkid)
•Cale Nicholson (Cale)
•Charles Singh
•Dennis Reynolds (karpador)
•Jógvan Trondesen (C3PO)
•John Mark Simpson (Duke)
•Randy Stearns (yagni01)
•Ryan Kingsbury (Countdown84)
•Stefan Sondermann (gnome_gemini)
•Tristan Lostroh (TL8)
•Zachary Grillo (jgrillo2002)

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XR Flight Operations Manual Translations
•German: Stefan Sondermann (earlier XR5 manual)
•Spanish: Julian Soulages (earlier XR5 manual)
•Italian: Ugo Palazzo (XR Flight Operations Manual Version 2.4)
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Dr. Martin Schweiger for his outstanding Orbiter program, which he
develops for free.
Special thanks to Don Gallagher for his early XR5 Vanguard prototype meshes that
helped me figure out how I wanted the Vanguard to look.
Thanks to Greg Burch for kindly granting me permission to use his high-polygon
astronaut meshes.
Thanks to Frying Tiger on the Orbiter Forum for developing the original DeltaGlider-S
mesh and virtual cockpit upon which the XR1 is based.

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Special thanks to Stefan Sondermann, Julian Soulages, and Ugo Palazzo for
translating the XR Flight Operations Manual into German, Spanish, and Italian,
respectively. See my Web site for more information.
Copyright
This software copyright 2006-2018 Douglas Beachy. This software is FREEWARE and
may not be sold or distributed for a fee under any circumstances, including a
“distribution fee.” You may not redistribute this software or host it on your own Web
site; however, you are free to link to my Web Page.
You may not charge a fee of any kind to use this software, nor may you use this
software for any commercial purpose (i.e., where profit is involved), regardless of
the terms governing the Orbiter instance on which it is running, without express
written permission signed by the author and sent via hardcopy letter or fax; i.e., an
email is not sufficient to grant permission. Please email me at
[email protected]et if you have any questions.
All software, custom meshes, custom textures, and all other files contained in this
package are copyright 2006-2018 by their respective authors (Douglas Beachy,
Russell Hicks, Steve Tyler, PennyBlack), and may not be sold or reused in any
Orbiter add-on or other product without express written permission signed by the
author(s) and sent via hardcopy letter or fax; i.e., an email is not sufficient to grant
permission.
This software is provided without any warranty, either expressed or implied.
You may not use any ship’s mesh, skins, or custom textures for another ship or
product without express written permission from the author(s) as stated above.

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Summary
Welcome to the Future.
The DG-XR1, XR5 Vanguard, and XR2 Ravenstar are cutting-edge spacecraft for
Orbiter that are the products of over 60,000 lines of C++ code. All XR vessels are
built on a common framework and share similar internal systems. Highlights include
three (XR1), four (XR2), or five (XR5) 2D instrument panels that natively support
1280-, 1600-, and 1920-pixel-wide resolutions, high-performance Altea Aerospace
SCRAM engines, complex damage simulation, custom sound effects via XRSound,
over 250 voice callouts performed by voice actress Sally Beaumont, and highly
precise autopilots just to name a few. In addition, the XR2 and XR5 include a
payload bay with full payload support via a custom panel.
XR vessels are designed to be pilots’ships, and with all the realism settings set to
maximum the ships are significantly more challenging to fly efficiently (and safely)
than the default DeltaGlider; i.e., pilot workload is higher. However, each vessel is
fully configurable via its configuration file (e.g., Config\XR5VanguardPrefs.cfg),
and with all the realism settings disabled each vessel is just as forgiving to fly as the
default DeltaGlider. The configuration file also features a custom CHEATCODES
section that allows the user to directly set certain ship's values such as maximum
engine thrust, fuel capacity, ship mass, etc.
Features
If you are a veteran XR pilot, you will find most of all three ships’ systems familiar.
However, the Vanguard is many times larger than the XR1/XR2 and the flight
characteristics are completely different –particularly if you are carrying a heavy
payload.
All XR vessels include:
•2D instrument panel native support for 1280-, 1600-, and 1920-pixel-wide
video modes. By default each XR vessel will automatically load the optimum
panel width based on the window size in which Orbiter is running. However,
to force a particular panel width to be used, set 2DPanelWidth in your ship’s
configuration file (e.g., Config\XR5VanguardPrefs.cfg). Each main panel is
low-profile in the center for maximum visibility.
•255-281 unique sound effects and voice callouts; callouts performed by voice
actress Sally Beaumont.
•Altea Aerospace SCRAM engines operable up to ~Mach 17 (XR1) or ~Mach 20
(XR2/XR5).
•Extensive refueling/resupply support via the lower instrument panel. Also
disabled Orbiter's automatic (and instant) refueling of the ship when touching

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down on a landing pad or when loading a scenario where the ship is landed on
a pad.
•Many instrument panel gauges, including:
oFuel display showing Main, RCS, and SCRAM fuel remaining.
oEngine display showing 1) main engine efficiency (affected by
atmospheric pressure), 2) main, hover, and SCRAM thrust levels, and
3) acceleration along all three axes in g’s and meters-per-second-
squared.
The G scale automatically switches its range as necessary, providing accurate
information for low, moderate, and high-G situations. This gauge shows the
force pulling on the ship, so as the ship accelerates into orbit you can watch
the Y axis Gs go down from one to zero. X = lateral (left-right), Y = vertical
(up-down), Z = ship acc (front-back).
•Reworked TSFC ("Thrust-Specific Fuel Consumption") screen showing main
engine and hover engine efficiency (affected by atmospheric pressure).
Rocket engines are most efficient when operating in a vacuum.
•Dynamic Pressure and Static Pressure gauges; useful for optimizing your
ascent when using the SCRAM engines.
•Slope gauge showing ascent/descent slope.
•AOA and Slip gauges.
•SCRAM Diffuser Temperature gauge which allows the pilot to monitor when
the SCRAM engines reach the edge of their performance envelope.
•Multi-Display-Area (MDA) screen that has ten different modes, showing:
oMode 0: Airspeed Hold Autopilot
oMode 1: Descent Hold / Auto-Land Autopilot
oMode 2: Attitude Hold Autopilot
oMode 3: Temperature Display for hull and coolant
oMode 4: Systems Status Display #1
oMode 5: Systems Status Display #2
oMode 6: Systems Status Display #3
oMode 7: Systems Status Display #4
oMode 8: Systems Status Display #5
oMode 9: Reentry Systems Check
•Two configurable pop-up HUDs. The secondary HUD has five modes and is
fully configurable for data, color, and transparency. The tertiary HUD shows
status and warning messages and is configurable for color and transparency
only.
•A new configuration file in your C:\Orbiter\config directory for each vessel
named DeltaGliderXR1Prefs.cfg, XR5VanguardPrefs.cfg, or
XR2RavenstarPrefs.cfg for the XR1, XR5, and XR2, respectively. This file
allows you to configure many ship settings, including flight settings,
disabling/enabling a given damage type, pop-up HUD colors and fields, etc.
Read the detailed comments in each file for details.

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•The parser that reads each ship’s configuration file is robust; if some invalid
data is encountered, the parser will log any errors to
DeltaGliderXR1.log/XR5Vanguard.log/XR2Ravenstar.log in the main
Orbiter startup directory and blink an alert message at the bottom of the
screen.
•Full reentry heating and damage support. Hull temperature readouts are
displayed by mode 3 on the MDA screen, and may be switched between
Kelvin, Fahrenheit, and Celsius by clicking the blue block on the touch screen.
•Realistic fuzzy logic hull overheating support: the ship is not instantly
destroyed when a hull surface exceeds maximum temperature; this is
discussed in detail in the Reentry section later in this document.
•Master Warning System with an alarm tone and a warning light panel. Full
support for audio warnings is also implemented.
•Highly-precise and efficient Attitude Hold autopilot that holds a set pitch/AOA
and bank while neutralizing yaw (i.e., yaw dampening); typically used to hold
pitch and bank during reentry and to hold attitude in an atmosphere.
•In an atmosphere the Attitude Hold autopilot holds attitude using three
methods simultaneously: 1) elevator trim, 2) a center-of-gravity shift feature
that works by pumping fuel forward or aft, and 3) RCS jets. The combination
of these three methods allows the ship to hold a rock-solid reentry attitude
even under time acceleration. It is also extremely efficient and requires very
little RCS fuel. Attitude Hold requires APU power in order to drive the center-
of-gravity pumps and elevator trim.
•Efficient Descent Hold/Auto-Land autopilot to hold a descent or ascent rate;
engaging auto-land mode will land the ship in a hover efficiently and smoothly
every time.
•Efficient Airspeed Hold autopilot to hold a given airspeed within 0.1 meter-
per-second. Useful during atmospheric flight and when taxiing. Airspeed Hold
may be enabled alongside (i.e., simultaneously with) any other autopilot
mode.
•[CHEATCODES] support in the configuration file that allows you to directly set
certain ship values such as the ship's mass, max engine thrust, fuel tank
capacity, etc. See the comments in the [CHEATCODES] section in each ship’s
configuration file for details.
•Full damage and crash simulation, including gear collapse based on
touchdown vertical speed and ship mass.
•New sound effects including altitude callouts, Mach callouts, warning callouts,
damage and failure callouts, and docking distance callouts. Docking distance
callouts are synced to a NAV IDS or XPDR frequency, with the closest active
IDS frequency taking precedence over any active XPDR frequency.
•DATA HUD to show custom keyboard shortcuts; activated via ALT-SPACE or
via a button on the main instrument panel.

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•Thruster translation/rotation and on/off controls (normally NUMPAD-/ and
CTRL-NUMPAD-/) are now compatible with Joy2Key. Joy2Key has a bug
where it cannot recognize NUMPAD-/, so the new /and CTRL-/ keys do the
same thing as their NUMPAD counterparts now. This means you can now
assign translation/rotation switching to a joystick button.
•Custom sound behavior for the SCRAM engines: engine volume now is based
on fuel flow (i.e., the resulting combustion) -- not necessarily on the throttle
setting.
•Configurable refresh rates for the secondary HUD and MDA screen; this
improves performance at high frame rates.
•Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) that powers the ship’s hydraulic systems; the APU
must be running in order for hydraulic systems to operate. Depending on the
config file setting the APU has limited fuel, so manage it carefully.
•Airlock pressurization/depressurization.
•Custom autopilots Attitude Hold, Descent Hold, and Airspeed Hold save and
reload their state to/from the scenario file. This means you can now save
your scenario even while reentering or auto-landing and then reload and
continue without a hitch.
XR1-Only Features
•A fully active virtual cockpit (VC) similar to the default DeltaGlider’s VC; you
may switch between cockpit modes by pressing F8.
XR2-Only Features
•A static virtual cockpit (VC); you may switch between cockpit modes by
pressing F8.
•Hull heating visual effects.
XR2/XR5-Only Features
•Full payload support that supports any payload module (i.e., vessel) that
exists in Orbiter that can fit in the payload bay. The Vanguard can carry up
to 432 metric tons of payload, whereas the XR2’s recommended payload limit
is 10.8 metric tons.
•Rotating wheels animation.
•A payload instrument panel to manage grappling/deploying payload.
•Support for auxiliary fuel and LOX tank payload modules attached in the
payload bay. If attached, bay tanks will drain first in flight and fill last when
ship is resupplied.

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XR5-Only Features
•Nose wheel steering animation.
•Independent front/rear gear compression animation on takeoffs and landings:
the gear compresses two meters as the ship touches down or lifts off. You can
best see this by lifting off at Brighton Beach using the Descent Hold autopilot
and watching from an external view. If you lift off at KSC and raise the nose
you can see the nose gear decompress first as the nose comes up, and the
rear gear will decompress when the ship lifts off.
•A crew elevator to allow the crew to EVA while landed. Crew may EVA/ingress
via either the top-mounted docking port or the crew elevator -- the active
EVA port is selected via a switch on the upper panel. This also means that you
can now EVA/ingress via the crew elevator even while the ship is docked to a
station or another vessel. Elevator deployment requires APU power.
•A top-mounted docking port that includes a docking camera panel view.
•An RCS Config mode that switches between standard and docking RCS
configurations: in RCS docking configuration, two things happen: 1) power to
the RCS jets is reduced to 40% of normal to allow for precise control of the
ship while docking, and 2) the control axes for the RCS jets are switched so
that when you are looking along the docking port centerline camera you can
use the RCS Rotation and Translation keys just as though you were looking
along the nose with a nosecone docking port; i.e., it will feel "normal." For
example, pressing NUMPAD-6 in translation mode will move the ship forward
along the Z axis in normal RCS mode, but it will move the ship up along the Y
axis in docking RCS mode. The hotkey to toggle RCS normal/docking mode is
ALT-J.
Requirements
•Windows Vista or newer.
•Orbiter 2016. Older Orbiter releases are not compatible with this release of
the XR fleet.
•Optional, but recommended: XRSound. You can always find the latest version
of XRSound on my Web Page.Although you may fly XR vessels without
XRSound installed, XRSound is highly recommended.
•Optional: XR Vessels support pluggable custom third-party skins; refer to my
Web Page for list of custom skins available for each ship.
Installation

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This section details how to install and configure you XR vessel. Note that each XR
vessel is an Orbiter add-on, and requires that Orbiter be installed first.
1. Install Orbiter 2016. Older versions of Orbiter are NOT SUPPORTED by this
release of the XR fleet.
2. Optional, but highly recommended: Install XRSound if not already installed.
You may always find the latest version of XRSound on my Web Page.
3. Optional but highly recommended: Install the DirectX 9 (D3D9) Orbiter
Graphics Client. Under Vista and Windows 7 Orbiter’s framerate is much
higher using DirectX 9 than it is using the default DirectX 7 client included
with the Orbiter core. A link to the latest DirectX 9 Orbiter Client version can
be found on my Web Page.Note: don’t forget that you need to execute
Orbiter_ng.exe instead of the normal Orbiter.exe in order to run the
DirectX 9 Orbiter Graphics Client. You will then need to enable the
D3D9Client Graphics engine in the Modules tab of the Orbiter launch pad.
4. If you are upgrading from a previous version of your XR vessel, be sure to
back up your vessel’s configuration file (e.g.,
C:\Orbiter\config\XR5VanguardPrefs.cfg) file if you customized it. Do
not simply copy your original configuration file over the new one installed by
the XR vessel’s zip file; the new configuration file contains new settings not
present in older configuration file versions.
5. Unzip the XR vessel’s distribution file into your C:\Orbiter directory.
6. If you are upgrading a previous version of your XR vessel, merge your
settings back into the new configuration file using your favorite text editor.
7. Bring up Orbiter to display the Orbiter Launchpad. Note: if you installed the
DirectX 9 graphics client as is recommended, execute Orbiter_ng.exe
instead of Orbiter.exe:Orbiter.exe always runs with its built-in DirectX 7
graphics engine.
8. Click the Modules button.
9. Click the checkbox next to XRSound in the Sound module for Orbiter section
to activate the module. Note: if you installed the DirectX 9 graphics client as
was recommended, activate the D3D9Client module as well.
10. Click the Video button and set the screen resolution to your taste. NOTE:
remember that XR vessels support 1280-, 1600-, and 1920-pixel-wide 2D
panels. If your display supports it, a width of 1920 pixels is recommended;
e.g., 1920x1200, 1920x1080, etc. Note that the screen height in pixels is not
critical since the panels are only about 640 pixels high. If you are running in
a window, a resolution of 1926x1200, 1606x1200 or 1286x1024 is
recommended to allow room for the borders, although window height is not
critical. XR Vessels will automatically load the optimum-width panel based on
your video settings. If you want to use force a particular panel resolution
instead, edit your configuration file and set 2DPanelWidth.

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It is also recommended that you click the "Disable Vertical Sync" checkbox so
your framerate can run at full speed: the higher the framerate, the more
accurate the simulation is. If the scanline tearing that can occur with vsync
disabled bothers you, enable vertical sync again by unchecking Disable
Vertical Sync.Note, however, that limiting the framerate will also reduce the
accuracy of the simulation.
In addition, ensure that Color Depth (bpp) is set to 32 instead of 16: running
in 16-bit color mode may produce odd colors on the screen and is not
recommended. If you are running in a window, set your desktop to 24- or
32-bit color rather than 16-bit.
11. You can adjust the Panel Scale value in the Parameters tab as necessary to
stretch the instrument panels, although panels usually look best if they are
not stretched (i.e., panel scale 1.0). An MFD refresh value of something
below 0.5 is recommended; 0.1 is a good place to start. If you see a
noticeable framerate hit with 0.1, try upping the value slightly.
12. If you have a joystick, go into the Joystick tab and configure it. Be sure to
also run Joy2Key if you have it installed. (Remember that you can now
configure Joy2Key for / and CTRL-/ for RCS changes.)
13. Review and edit your XR vessel’s configuration file (e.g.,
C:\Orbiter\config\XR5VanguardPrefs.cfg, DeltaGliderXR1Prefs.cgf,
or XR2RavenstarPrefs.cfg) and configure the settings to your liking. The
file is fully commented, and each XR vessel allows extensive configuration of
its settings. Refer to the section titled Configuring Your XR Vessel for details.
That’s it. Now boot up Orbiter and load one of the XR scenarios installed under the
C:\Orbiter\Scenarios folder (e.g., Scenarios\XR2 Ravenstar).
Refer to later sections in this manual for details on how to fly your XR vessel.
Welcome aboard!
The screenshots below compare the Vanguard’s 1280-, 1600-, and 1920-pixel-wide
main panels. Remember that you can enable one of the new wide-screen 2D
instrument panel modes by editing your vessel’s configuration file and setting
2DPanelWidth.

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1920x1200 Screenshot Showing the Vanguard’s Optional 1920-pixel-
wide 2D Main Instrument Panel.

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1600x1200 Screenshot Showing the Vanguard’s Optional 1600-pixel-
wide 2D Main Instrument Panel.

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1280x1024 Screenshot Showing the Vanguard’s Default 1280-pixel-
wide 2D Main Instrument Panel.
Configuring Your XR Vessel
Each XR vessel includes a configuration file that lets you tailor your vessel’s behavior
to your liking. Each file is fully commented, and each XR vessel allows extensive
configuration of its settings. Note that you do not need to exit the Orbiter
Launchpad in order for your edits to take effect; the configuration file is read every
time a new vessel is created (i.e., each time a scenario loads).
XR vessels are high-performance spacecraft for Orbiter, however they share many
common controls with standard Orbiter vessels: Orbiter’s default controls, such as
virtual cockpit, throttle, and view controls are unchanged from the standard vessels
included with Orbiter. You can refer to the DeltaGlider-S documentation included
with Orbiter for details about standard flight and view controls: the file is
C:\Orbiter\Doc\DeltaGlider.pdf.

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By default each XR vessel is installed with all damage settings enabled, which means
that it is now quite possible to destroy your ship if you don’t watch what you’re
doing. However, damage detection and simulation is fully configurable via your
vessel’s configuration file, and you are free to turn any particular damage type on or
off as desired (hull heating, hard landings, crashes, etc.)If you turn off all damage
settings, your XR vessel will be as forgiving as the default DeltaGlider included with
the Orbiter core installation. This allows novice pilots to “ease into” realistic flight
gradually as they progress.
Note: XR configuration files are simple text files that you can edit with your favorite
text editor (e.g., Notepad).The default XR vessel configuration files are shown in
the table below:
XR Vessel
Configuration File
DeltaGlider-XR1
$ORBITER_HOME\Config\DeltaGliderXR1Prefs.cfg
XR2 Ravenstar
$ORBITER_HOME\Config\XR2RavenstarPrefs.cfg
XR5 Vanguard
$ORBITER_HOME\Config\XR5VanguardPrefs.cfg
For example, to configure (disable) different types of ship damage you would edit the
following parameters in your XR vessel’s configuration file and set one or more to
zero to disable damage detection for that subsystem:
#----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Enable or disable ship damage due to wing stress, hull heating,
# hard landings, crashes, excessive dynamic pressure, and SCRAM
# engine overheat.
# 0 = damage disabled
# 1 = damage enabled
#---------------------------------------------------------------------
WingStressDamageEnabled=1
HullHeatingDamageEnabled=1
HardLandingsDamageEnabled=1
CrashDamageEnabled=1
DoorStressDamageEnabled=1
ScramEngineOverheatDamageEnabled=1
EnableDamageWhileDocked=1
In addition to editing the default configuration file for your XR vessel, which affects
all of those types of vessels in all your scenarios (i.e., editing
$ORBITER_HOME\Config\DeltaGliderXR1Prefs.cfg will affect all of your XR1
vessels in all scenarios), you can also override some or all of your default settings for
just one scenario by modifying that scenario file. There are two different methods of
doing this:
1) Rename your XR vessel in your scenario file to match the name of a
corresponding $ORBITER_HOME\Config\<vesselname>.xrcfg override file, or
2) Add one or more CONFIG_OVERRIDE_<settingname> settings directly to the
scenario file.

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It is also possible to do both in a given scenario file, in which case configuration
settings are applied in the following order:
1. The default configuration file (e.g.,
$ORBITER_HOME\Config\DeltaGliderXR1Prefs.cfg).
2. The override configuration file, if any (e.g.,
$ORBITER_HOME\Config\MyShipName.xrcfg).
3. Any CONFIG_OVERRIDE_<settingname> settings specified in the scenario file.
Settings applied later override any earlier settings. Each XR vessel includes example
scenarios demonstrating how to override default settings using both methods:
Method 1: Scenarios\<shipname>\Configuration File Override Example
1.scn uses a corresponding .xrcfg file.
Method 2: Scenarios\<shipname>\Configuration File Override Example
2.scn sets CONFIG_OVERRIDE_ values in the scenario file.
The first method is generally preferred because you can override any XR preference
setting by setting a custom value for it in the .xrcfg file(s) for the XR vessel(s) in
that scenario. For technical reasons the second method is limited to overriding only
the settings listed below:
CONFIG_OVERRIDE_MainFuelISP=#
CONFIG_OVERRIDE_SCRAMFuelISP=#
CONFIG_OVERRIDE_LOXConsumptionMultiplier=#
CONFIG_OVERRIDE_APUFuelBurnRate=#
CONFIG_OVERRIDE_CoolantHeatingRate=#
(…where # is a number for that configuration setting.)
If you need to override any other settings, or if want to easily apply a given group of
settings to multiple scenarios, use method one instead.
As an example, let’s say you want to create a custom set of XR settings for a trip
from Earth to Mars for your XR2. You don’t need to edit the default
$ORBITER_HOME\Config\XR2RavenstarPrefs.cfg file, although you certainly may if
you wish. If you would rather just create a custom configuration, however, there are
two steps:
1. Create a new .xrcfg file in the Config directory what contains only those
settings you wish to override. [Note that you can override as few or as many
settings as you wish.] There is a pre-installed sample file for the XR2
demonstrating this named XR2-EXAMPLE.xrcfg.
2. Modify your Orbiter scenario file in which you want to use your new Mars-
configured XR2 and rename the XR2 vessel to match the filename of the
.xrcfg file you just created: XR2-EXAMPLE, in this case.

XR Flight Operations Manual Version 3.0
Copyright 2006-2018 Douglas Beachy. All Rights Reserved.
19
The sample Scenarios\XR2 Ravenstar\Configuration File Override Example
1.scn scenario file does just that. If you open that scenario in a text editor you will
see our XR2 is named as follows:
XR2-EXAMPLE:XR2Ravenstar
STATUS Landed Earth
POS -80.705714 28.632274
HEADING 150.00
When you rename your XR2, be sure to replace all the occurrences of the old vessel
name in the scenario file. For example, we also have this section near the end of the
file:
XR2-EXAMPLE_Bay:XRPayloadBay
STATUS Landed Earth
POS -80.7098293 28.6270272
HEADING 149.98
ATTACHED 0:3,XR2-EXAMPLE
END
XR2PayloadCHM-01-1:XR2PayloadCHM
STATUS Landed Earth
POS -80.7098140 28.6270040
HEADING 149.98
ATTACHED 0:0,XR2-EXAMPLE
NAVFREQ 0 0
END
When that XR vessel loads in Orbiter, it will check whether a preference override file
exists with this name: $ORBITER_ROOT\Config\XR2-EXAMPLE.xrcfg (the filename is
case-insensitive). If the file exists, it will be read and any preference settings in it
applied after the default configuration file is processed. Any XR vessels in any
scenarios with the name XR2-EXAMPLE will use that .xrcfg file, so once the .xrcfg
file is created you need only rename your XR vessel in a given scenario to match in
order for it to use that configuration override file. This lets you share a single
configuration file across multiple scenarios, so if you want to make a change to those
settings you only need to edit the .xrcfg file to have it affect all scenarios (vessels)
that use it; this is easier than editing each individual scenario file separately.
In our example here, our XR2-EXAMPLE.xrcfg override file contains these settings
(comments snipped for brevity):
[GENERAL]
MainFuelISP=5
LOXLoadout=5
APUFuelBurnRate=1
All other preferences will use their default values as specified in the default
configuration file, $ORBITER_HOME\Config\XR2RavenstarPrefs.cfg.

XR Flight Operations Manual Version 3.0
Copyright 2006-2018 Douglas Beachy. All Rights Reserved.
20
Cheat Codes
For more adventurous pilots, XR vessels include a CHEATCODES section in their
configuration files that allows users to directly set certain ship parameters such as
ship mass, fuel capacity, engine thrust, etc. Note that these values are not range-
checked in any way. Please be aware that although setting a CHEATCODE value
incorrectly will not harm your Orbiter installation, it could in theory cause Orbiter to
CTD (Crash-To-Desktop) if some values are set incorrectly. Refer to the comments
in your vessel’s configuration file for more information.
Flying your XR Vessel
Note: as stated in the standard Orbiter documentation:
•You may switch between different instrument panels (docking, upper,
payload, main, lower) using the CTRL-UP / CTRL-DOWN / CTRL-LEFT / CTRL-
RIGHT keys.
•To rotate knobs on the 2D panels, either use the shortcut keys or, if you
prefer the mouse, left-click to turn them left and right-click to turn them
right.
•You may switch between instrument panel modes (2D panel -> Virtual
Cockpit -> Glass cockpit) via the F8 key. [Note that the XR5 does not have a
virtual cockpit.]
•In Virtual Cockpit mode you may move between seats via the CTRL-arrow
keys.
•You may toggle external view with the F1 key and then pan around by holding
right-mouse button or page up/page down/CTRL-cursor keys.
For more information about standard Orbiter flight keys, view controls, and standard
ship controls please refer to the standard C:\Orbiter\Doc\DeltaGlider.pdf and
C:\Orbiter\Doc\Orbiter.pdf files installed with Orbiter.
Although not required, the key to efficiently flying your XR vessel into LEO ("Low-
Earth Orbit") is to use your air-breathing SCRAM engines for as long as possible
before using your main engines for orbit insertion. A SCRAMJET is a variant of the
conventional RAMJET engine (Supersonic RAMJET). Unlike jet engines, RAMJET
engines have no compressor to compress the incoming air -- air is "rammed" into the
diffuser where it is compressed and ignited with injected fuel. As such, SCRAM
engines are ineffective at low velocities or even high velocities if the atmosphere is
too thin.
If you fly too low you will waste fuel by generating excessive heat, possibly even
damaging the ship if hull temperatures get too high. On the other hand, if you fly
too high you will decrease SCRAM engine thrust and efficiency because there will be
insufficient oxygen being rammed into the SCRAM intakes. The key to efficient flight