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VTube AB Length or Crow Flight

Written by Michael Cone

Updated at January 22nd, 2026

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Customers sometimes want to qualify tube shapes using the AB Length, also known "Crow Flight". (For example, John Deere engineers call this a crow flight.)

An AB length is calculated as the 3D distance from the first point to the last point like this:

In the image above, the AB length was dimensioned using the Build TruewView Dimension in the Dimension Control. This window can be loaded from the Other Actions, Dimension Control window from the grid menu on the right side of the screen.

The value can always be found inside the Inspection Data menu.

ABma is the AB MASTER or nominal.

ABme is the AB MEASURED.

VTube allows you to set the tolerance for the AB length in this menu in Tol+ and Tol-.

When using Pass/Fail Attributes, VTube allows you to choose to qualify a tube based on these tolerances.

Then in show the qualification as part of the Pass/Fail in the reports like this:

Since VTube also allows for a Space Object called a "Linear Dimension," creating a dimension in any orientation that shows the AB length is possible.

 

span flight

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