Takeoff and Landing

Preparation

After the animation is assembled and checked, it is time to prepare the drones' takeoff and landing.

Go to TAKEOFF_AND_LANDING and start the preparation. This node provides a setup for lifting the drones from their start positions and returning them back to the ground after the show.

The key players are the takeoff_landing nodes named Takeoff_sim and Landing_sim — these are the workhorses of this setup. They compute the per-drone movement between the ground and flight positions.

Follow the preparation sequence in order:

1. Start positions — the drones take their start positions from the drones_base_position null (merged from Show_site_data/drones_ground_pos).
2. Load the animation — load the animation alembic file into the Show node.
3. Compute the takeoff — evaluate Takeoff_sim and write the result via rop_alembic1.
4. Load the takeoff — load the computed takeoff back into the Takeoff alembic node.
5. In the controller null node click Set good transition values to synchronize the takeoff with the show animation.
6. Compute the landing — evaluate Landing_sim and write the result via rop_alembic2.
7. Load the landing — load the computed landing into the Landing alembic node.
8. Click Set good transition values again.
9. Review and write everything out — check the full animation and write it via out / rop_alembic3.

Transition Control

Convenient control of the transition between the takeoff and the main show animation is implemented in the controller null node. Click the Set good transition values button to update the transition values — press it after each takeoff or landing is loaded into its alembic node.

Flight Path

An optional custom flight path for the takeoff can be supplied via custom_geo_path — build it from the curve2 curve through the sweep1 node.

Simulation

Takeoff_sim/Landing_sim — takeoff_landing nodes with pre-configured parameters for simulation (target/ground positions, movement calculation, and a DOP solver).

Checks

Review the full animation in the viewport before writing the results out.

Warning: Be sure that the takeoff and landing write without any issues in distance, speed and acceleration for your drones specification, and without intersections with the ground or the show formation.

The full animation — including takeoff and landing — is now ready.