Why Buy from VHI?

• What qualifications does the builder bring to the table?

• I am a licensed Private Pilot (ASEL) in real life.
• I've been in SL since May 3, 2003, building and scripting almost since day one.
• I've studied aerodynamics and worked exhaustively to build a flight physics engine capable of delivering a good amount of realism within the tight constraints of the SL platform. It is currently in its fourth generation and is far more advanced than anything else I have seen to date in SL.
  
• I build aircraft to satisfy my own desire to experience realistic, fun flight simulation within SL. I will not sell an aircraft that handles like a UFO because I couldn't stand to fly such an aircraft myself.
  

• Does it control well?

VHI aircraft are designed to be easy to control, and yet responsive enough to handle the kinds of of situations that are likely to arise in Second Life. Turning is possible at two speeds, one which is reasonably quick and another (triggered by holding the Shift key) that is very slow, and designed for lining up with runways and making other small course corrections. Different models have different turn rates. The Cygnus II (Dec. 2005) and everything newer support automatic mouselook control.

• How realistic is the simulation?

At the core of the VHI experience is physics enhancement. The default Linden vehicle system operates by simulating linear (straight-line) and angular forces, but it isn't very advanced. Effects such as stalling, gravity, and so forth, have to be implemented outside of the vehicle system. Each vehicle is tuned individually, according to its characteristics and intended use. Flight characteristics that are particular to certain kinds of aircraft - for example, the tendency of an autogyro to rapidly lose altitude when its rotor becomes unloaded - are way beyond the capabilities of the vehicle system as it stands today. (It doesn't even know what a wing is!) Simulating these things is a core competency that is demonstrated by every VHI vehicle, and even the two free VHI aircraft (Slipstream II and Skylark) have some enhancements.

• How well does it match my skill level?

VHI aircraft are designed to be easy enough for beginners to learn on, yet provide a rewarding experience to those who are looking for something a bit more challenging. Where realistic physics might serve to make an aircraft too difficult for a beginner to handle, an option is built in to control the level of realism, and set to "easy" from the factory, leaving the pilot to activate realistic physics if they want to. Newer aircraft use a dialog box to ask the pilot which flight model they prefer.

• Is it visually appealing?

VHI aircraft offer a distinctive look. The Slipstream II, intended to be a somewhat aggressive flyer, features sharp angles and clean lines. The Cygnus and Skylark feature a softer and somewhat more aerodynamic look, and their lift-generating surfaces are designed like real wings, down to the airfoil cross sections. The Accipiter and Archduke have more advanced texturing. The Nimbus has the most advanced textures, and actually has the ability to switch between multiple skins, some of which can be tinted. The F-16 is currently the most detailed aircraft sold by VHI, featuring well over 200 prims (most of which are in an attachment due to physics engine limitations within SL.) All aircraft (except the F-16) can change their colors via voice command, either to a preset color theme or to one you specify, and everything released since Summer 2005 has popup menus that allow (among other things) color selection. Textures are kept simple and are "preloaded" where necessary.

• How does it sound?

In Second Life, many vehicles are either silent or feature only a single sound for the engine. Often there is no startup or shutdown sound, and avionics, if there are any, are silent.

The first step in designing a VHI flyer actually occurs outside Second Life. Engine and avionics sound effects are considered an important part in the user experience, and are foleyed, synthesized, normalized, and tested externally. Engine sounds are usually recorded from the environment (or bought from Sound Dogs), cleaned up in Audacity, imported into Buzz, sequenced, re-recorded, normalized, and then uploaded to Second Life. Avionics sounds are synthesized directly in Buzz. The result is smooth engine startup, operation, and shutdown. Avionics sound crisp and distinctive as well.

• Does it have a head-up display?

There are a number of important parameters that pilots should be made aware of, such as speed, pitch, and throttle position. These and other data are displayed using a textual head-up display. The Cygnus II (Dec. 2005) and everything after that come with a free Nav/Tac HUD that presents a hybrid textual/graphical display for this information. The Nav/Tac HUD can actually be used with ANY vehicle, or by itself (and even has an intelligent flight-assist mode for travelling without a vehicle.) However, some information (engine/gear/brakes/etc.) is only available when used with VHI aircraft.

• How configurable is it?

All VHI aircraft are voice-controlled and feature many commands that are explained in a notecard. Aircraft released Summer 2005 and later have a comprehensive touch menu system. In order to conserve resources, the listener is only active when the craft is in use.

• Does it come with instructions?

All VHI products come with a comprehensive instruction manual. This is divided into multiple sections.

• How much does it cost?

Pricing is competitive with other aircraft. VHI flyers are designed to meet or exceed the capabilities of other craft in their price range in several key areas, so you get a good amount of value for your Linden dollars. You may find that you're getting a lot more for your Linden dollars than you expected. It takes tens to hundreds of hours to perfect highly complex scripts, and I'm willing to do it. The same is true of some other builders, but certainly not all of them.

• Does it come from a developer whose vehicles I am already familiar with?

VHI vehicle research began the day that SL's vehicle system debuted in 2003. By the end of that first day, an afterburner had already been developed. The first VHI vehicle - the Slipstream - debuted under the Valen Dynamics label in February 2004, and immediately became very popular. The Slipstream II was released in April 2004, and also sold quite well. The Skylark, designed as an entry-level ultralight jet, was released in April 2005, and the G-1 Cygnus autogyro was released in August of that year. The Cygnus II was released in December of 2005. In 2006, the Accipiter and Archduke 5-5 were released, and 2007 (so far) has seen the birth of the V-1 Nimbus and F-16. VHI aircraft can be seen all over the grid, and it isn't uncommon for buyers to purchase all of them at different times.

• How many does it seat?

Insistence on attention to detail, combined with the current 30-prim limit on vehicles, can often make it difficult to build multi-seat aircraft. Each pilot or passenger requires two prims out of the allocation - one for their seat, plus one extra, since a seated avatar counts as one prim against the 30. Some aircraft support one pilot only. Others support one pilot and one passenger. The Archduke was designed from the ground up with capacity for four.

• Does it have any features that really make it stand out?

In addition to smooth control mechanisms and enhanced flight physics, there are all kinds of "little things" that make VHI aircraft stand out from the pack. For example, when a VHI vehicle is parked on a level surface and remains still for a moment, physics are turned off to prevent it from unwanted movement. The Slipstream II features a glidepath (more accurately, best angle of glide at low power) system to assist in landings. The Accipiter and Archduke have similar systems, and the Cygnus II autogyro has an optimum descent rate indicator. The Nimbus and F-16 have tri-color AOA gauges. These features are driven by a desire to bring the level of realism in SL aircraft to the same level that exists in commercial flight simulators.

• The Ultimate Goal: To bring vehicle physics up to the same level found in commercial flight simulators.

• Aircraft should be fun to fly.

• There should be at least minimal physics enhancements on every VHI flyer.

• Where realistic physics would make an aircraft difficult for a new pilot to handle, they should be disabled from the factory, and it should be possible to reactivate them at any time.

• Every aircraft should have a comprehensive instruction manual, to include an introduction, quick-start, and explanation of voice commands.

• Every aircraft should be beta-tested on an alt to verify permissions (especially copy permissions - very important for vehicles) and that nothing will suddenly break when the aircraft is owned by someone else. Then, the aircraft should be beta-tested by someone else, ON THEIR OWN and without any interaction with the designer during the tests. In this way, the results won't be contaminated.
  

• Engines should have full sound effects. They should start up, run, and shut down realistically.

• Where textures are changed during flight, they should be preloaded if necessary and possible.

• Every aircraft should have its control responsiveness and flight physics tuned according to its construction and intended use. Large aircraft should not have the same handling and physics as small aircraft.

• It should be a goal to have custom color controls on all aircraft, although certain texturing schemes might make this impractical on some models.

• Tuning of controls and physics must take into account the realities of flying aircraft in an environment like Second Life. It is desirable that all aircraft should be operable throughout the grid, even in content-heavy areas with many people around. In order to meet these goals, it is acceptable to make an aircraft more maneuverable, and able to fly at lower speeds, than would be possible in real life.

• When a product bug is fixed, customers owning that product should get an updated version for free.