openAE

 In 2008 Professor Glenn P. Greiner and (then student) Jafar Mohammed created a collection of MatLAB scripts which would allow the user to create a three dimensional model of the aircraft from the Digital Datcom input file. They called the collection Plot Datcom3D. Mostly copying and pasting geometry data from the for005.dat input file into an easy to use master template and running the files creates a complete model which can be rotated, panned, resized and double checked for accuracy.  

The script is in stable working order, well commented, and includes an example of the Navion (as seen above).  The created model also features brightly colored control surface deflections for ease of identification.

No new updates on the script have been done in some years but it is viewed as being complete.  The script does require MatLAB which is not open-source and has an expensive costly license attributed to it but there is potential that this collection of scripts can be converted into Scilab format which is open-source. 

The script can be downloaded from the openAE download section as Professor Greiner has been kind enough to allow us to host it and easily operated by modifying the information in the datcom3d_template.m file and launching it.  The script then makes function calls to the other files located in the folder.

Website: ERAU Datcom

Platform: Requires MatLAB, platform independent | Download

openAE Resources: Not yet...you can write some though