JSBSim is an open source Flight Dynamics Model (FDM) software library that models the flight dynamics of an aerospace vehicle. The library has been incorporated into the flight simulation packages FlightGear and OpenEaagles. It can also be called from a small standalone program to create a batch simulation tool. JSBSim has been in development and use since 1996, and has been built on all of the most popular platforms in use today including those running Linux, Macintosh, and Microsoft Windows operating systems. JSBSim is written in C++ and uses XML configuration files. ==History and Overview==
JSBSim was conceived in 1996 as a lightweight, data-driven, non-linear, six degree-of-freedom (6DoF), batch simulation application aimed at modeling flight dynamics and control for aircraft. Since the earliest versions, JSBSim has benefited from the open source development environment it has grown within, and the wide variety of users that have contributed ideas for its continued improvement. It has been incorporated into larger, full-featured, flight simulation applications and architectures (known examples are FlightGear and OpenEaagles), and has been used as a batch simulation tool in industry and academia. As an example of ease of use, the following code illustrates how JSBSim could be called by a small program, with execution being controlled by a script:
The above application works when built with the JSBSim library, and it only needs to be supplied with an aircraft configuration file, an initial conditions file, and a script file that controls execution. All of these files are defined using XML (eXtensible Markup Language). JSBSim is perhaps the first flight dynamics model to employ XML to describe an aircraft for simulation. An example of an aerodynamic definition is shown below: