Technically, I think quaternions are the way to represent this. Graphically, might be useful to show a helicopter twice (or three times). One as a reference or target, and one as the current position (with the line), possibly ghosted. This makes it easier to see the rotation about its own axis, as a line rotating about its own length does not look any different from the original. Perhaps use arrows instead.
When making use of pre-existing 3D engines, it should be relatively easy to do this in an afternoon or so.
|