disappearing runway lights

[Dave Morgan 68]

Hi all. I haven't posted before (just lazy I suppose) but now that evenings in the northern hemisphere are getting longer I need an excuse for remaining on my butt...I have a FU3 with SanFran and a lot of extras (God! you guys are good to me) and have recently been changing a few airports and adding a few of my own. I'd like to learn about AI but I'm unwilling to move on until a problem's been solved...I started a replacement ALW for the outer terrain using the FAA's silhouette airport diagrams and have models, taxiways, runways et c. but when I have more than 1 runway + 2 taxiways + 1 parking spot a whole host of runway lights disappear... edge, centre, REIL threshold... Taxi lights remain visible.I haven't seen it happen anywhere else I've been mucking around & it's starting to frustrate me now... It's not the operating system or graphics card/controller (happens on 2 PCs). It's not caused by the other airports (happens with my ALW in a clean installation of FU3 + SanFran). I can't believe it's the topography (the lights reappear if I simplify the taxigraph). As far as I can tell, it's not caused by crossing tile or sub-tile boundaries (it happens when I use short strips of light). And to top it all, if I use w_lite1 models or similar (thanks JP I think but I don't have a readme with that zip-full of models) in a touchdown zone they disappear too, though to be fair I suppose they may be hidden under the runway pavement.Please, please help me. You could give me a few pointers about including screenshots or package folders in a post too- pictures are better than words but like I said, I'm new to this forum thing...

[Hans_Petter 1]

Hopefully somebody can give you the correct answer. My guess is that the problem stems from a lack of airport flattening. Provided you have placed your new runway and its lights on "unflattened" ground they may go underground and disappear.You might upload your tweaks as an attachment and let us check it out! When all problems are solved a proper library upload would be appreciated.

[Dave Morgan 68]

Hi Hans,I hope I have this attachment thing done correctly.The problem I have is a little different...My ALW currently has this taxigraph:and these lights:If I set the FBO properties to controlled, the lights look like this in FU3:You can see taxi lights are still there at the south end of 16/34 (right foreground) but when the FBO is configured as a controlled airport, there are no runway edge lights on 16/34... only on 02/20 (top right).If I simplify the taxigraph:then, magically, the lights all reappear: RY 02/20, 07/25 & 16/34 all have edge and threshold. You might just be able to see that the same thing happens to touchdown lights on RY 20.They also reappear if I make the FBO an outer terrain airport and they all work as PCL if I make it a public uncontrolled airport.I played around a bit last night and deleted the taxigraph. When I tried to save the changes had an error message from Fled stating something like 'Error: missing node. Can't find node...' I have a vague memory of something similar happening when I inadvertently connected a light to a line, or line to taxigraph (labels got in the way). It was a bit of a swine to find so I may just delete and start again. It might go a little faster next time round- I'll know what I'm doing!It's a funny thing, but if I use Walla Walla as the FBO Name, the airport doesn't appear as an option when asking Seattle approach for a vector, but Aardvark, Valhalla and most names in between all work fine.I'll let you all know when it's working properly. I probably will start again, but if anyone else has encountered similar problems I'd feel happier knowing it's not just me!

[agtim 0]

Hi Dave,Nice airport build :-)FLED can corrupt files at some occasions :-(I made 2 tools that can help to modify airport data outside of FLED. You can delete objects or move it to a new location.You can even move the full airport to a new hight/location or just modify position and height of the blue square that will define the airport elevation value for all AI planes on all runways, taxiways... Airport Editor for FU3 http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID...&DLID=57058FLED Editor for FU3: I just discovered that this tool was never uploaded to AVSIM - I attach it here and will upload to the library later.Attach was not possible, so take it from my homepage: http://www.agtim.ch/fu3/forum/FLEDViewer.zip :( Andre

[Guest CaptRolo]

Make sure you are entering outter terrain from seattle and not sanfran in FLED.I made ALW and uploaded a long time ago ,you can download it and make modifications if you like .I see you paved taxie ways, looks good.

Hi Dave,Nice airport build :-)FLED can corrupt files at some occasions :-(I made 2 tools that can help to modify airport data outside of FLED. You can delete objects or move it to a new location.You can even move the full airport to a new hight/location or just modify position and height of the blue square that will define the airport elevation value for all AI planes on all runways, taxiways... Airport Editor for FU3 http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID...&DLID=57058FLED Editor for FU3: I just discovered that this tool was never uploaded to AVSIM - I attach it here and will upload to the library later.Attach was not possible, so take it from my homepage: http://www.agtim.ch/fu3/forum/FLEDViewer.zip :( Andre

[Dave Morgan 68]

I've wiped the whole of the first attempt & started again. The only part of the original attempt now is m0bhdd.mod, although without the fbo (thanks Andr

[Lars Peter 0]

I've wiped the whole of the first attempt & started again. The only part of the original attempt now is m0bhdd.mod, although without the fbo (thanks Andr

[Hans_Petter 1]

I'd like to attach the airport folder and .mod file, as far as they've come, for destruct testing but the forum won't let me attach .zip files. I tried being sneaky & renaming the zip to walla.fu3 but still no joy. I need more sneakiness lessons. Any suggestions?If all else fails I could mail it... defaidathotmaildotcom

I think a zip should be OK but the name may be changed into something cryptic. That is, wallawalla.zip may turn into 124857.zip or something along those lines or possibly just 124857. Just attach the zipped file and tell us in the post message that is a zip file and we'll take it from there.

[Dave Morgan 68]

Nar... I seem to be able to upload pictures and nothing else. With anything else I get a message telling me 'Upload failed. You are not permitted to upload this type of file'. Am I just being stupid in trying to attach the zip file by the same method as I attached the pictures above?Anyway, the models and airport are ok now & I want to get on with learning about AI. I've been through the LG white paper and Jouko Huovinen's traffic documentation but I must be failing to understand something basic. I threw a lot of parking spots in, in the hope of seeing something happen, just some touch and go practice in a circuit perhaps, but after 30 minutes it's still all quiet.I suppose I need to modify some other file like ext_port.txt or aiplan.txt or airspace.txt but when considering Jure Dolanec's Pangborn, Capt Rolo's Sandpoint and Markus Brunner's Grand Canyon I can't spot any relevant modifications. All I can identify is the parking spots at the airports. So, what am I failing to see and do?Is there an idiots' guide to creating AI? And would anyone be willing to have the airport by mail as far as it's gone to make some suggestions? Or, dare I suggest it, your own further modifications?

[Hans_Petter 1]

Nar... I seem to be able to upload pictures and nothing else. With anything else I get a message telling me 'Upload failed. You are not permitted to upload this type of file'. Am I just being stupid in trying to attach the zip file by the same method as I attached the pictures above?

Below the text window there's "attachments" and "select file" (scroll down if you don't see it). You click "choose" and browse to your file. Then it's "upload"

[Guest twsimfan]

Nar... I seem to be able to upload pictures and nothing else. With anything else I get a message telling me 'Upload failed. You are not permitted to upload this type of file'. Am I just being stupid in trying to attach the zip file by the same method as I attached the pictures above?

Dave,I don't think you can attach a text file in that way. If it is small enough you can copy it and paste it into your post.If that doesn't answer your question then I don't understand what you are trying to do which is entirely possible. Perhaps even probable. :)Does that help?Thanks,Tom Wunder

[Dave Morgan 68]

This sucks, it really does. I see the download server is, ah, down for tweaking. Would that affect things? I was going to attach a screenshot of the 'You can't do that' message but I can't attach pictures any more either. Ho hum.Anyway, on a more positive note, I sorted the AI thing out in short order last night. I had the traffic density slider down at zero... sometimes I can be really fick. Can't get a word in edgewise now when I want to talk to Tower!