Greetings fellow armchair Pilots.I've been an AVSIM lurker for some time and I must admit the wealth of information available on this forum or indeed on the net for FSX is just great. That said however I did wonder if someone would be kindly inclined to help me with a couple of queries. Well to be honest they are more little irritations really with how FSX handles certain AI aspects.The first matter on my list is what I have come to regard as the 'Voldemort' effect. It has become increasingly clear to me that he is not only alive and well in Harry Potter novels, but wondering around FSX airports playing vanishing tricks with waiting aircraft. I have read up on this and learned it is down to the so called "five" minute rule. In order to fix this and banish him from my airports I installed AITP-X only to have "he who must not be named" promptly jump from the game straight onto my hard drive to corrupt FSX as a whole. Thus upon trying to find a banishing spell I learned alas it does not work with SP1 or 2, though admittedly the post I read was rather old. Therefore is there new utility available now compatible with SP1/SP2 to banish him for good from our airports? Here is a link to the site I found the utility on.http://www.world-of-ai.com/downloads.htmlSecondly, I have come to realise that some AI pilots are either blind, have murderous intentions or perhaps a combination of both. I haven't quite worked out which sadly, but I have noticed that while I am waiting at the take off ramp happy in the knowledge that I will be next the landing pilot promptly steers his aircraft into mine to exit the runway despite the fact there are other exits along the runway. This invariably causes an opera of screams from the passenger cabin as I am forced to do what any sane pilot would and get the hell out of the way. Needless to say landing head first into the grass next to the ramp not only creates a damages bill for my airline, but just the most hideous amount of paper work with the aviation authorities. Thus again I would be ever so grateful if someone can shed any light on this or indeed have any tips on how to avoid this from happening? Any tools available etc?Well that's it about it for now and I thank you very much in advance for any assistance.

Welcome to posting.Sounds like you are using a lot of add on AI. I don't use any, but I understand that Aismooth can help with your problems. There are some AI addons that brake too fast. There are changes that can be made in the aircraft cfg., but I don't know what they are.Good luckBob

Welcome to posting.Sounds like you are using a lot of add on AI. I don't use any, but I understand that Aismooth can help with your problems. There are some AI addons that brake too fast. There are changes that can be made in the aircraft cfg., but I don't know what they are.Good luckBob

Greetings BobThank you very much for the welcome it is heartily accepted (extends hand for a hand shake). Well I actually have no AI add ons installed at all. The only add on I have installed at all is Shockwave's 3D light Redux which by the way is grand, though on occasion I do have to wear my sun glasses when turning on the landing lights.I will certainly look into AISmooth (sounds like something you buy from one of those corner smoothie stores) thanks greatly for the suggestion. I'll head over to the AVSIM vault now to go have a wee look to see what I can find. Hopefully I won't get lost again in there, took me an hour to get out last time.Thanks again!!All the very best to you and everyone else!FM.

Yes, the AI pilots and AI traffic controllers are somewhat of an interesting challenge in FSX and frequently will attempt a devilish maneuver that would get their licenses pulled immediately.What you can do to alleviate the issue is simply fly online on VATSIM or IVAO, which will only show other online pilots and provides trained virtual ATC, although some areas can be spotty depending who's online. That not only ups the challenge but makes the FSX experience a totally new thing. Check it out.Etienne

Yes, the AI pilots and AI traffic controllers are somewhat of an interesting challenge in FSX and frequently will attempt a devilish maneuver that would get their licenses pulled immediately.What you can do to alleviate the issue is simply fly online on VATSIM or IVAO, which will only show other online pilots and provides trained virtual ATC, although some areas can be spotty depending who's online. That not only ups the challenge but makes the FSX experience a totally new thing. Check it out.Etienne

Hey EtienneGrand to meet you and I'm glad to hear that it is not just me who have suffered from the AI having read American Psycho just that little too much. With regard to VATSIM I have indeed thought about it, but oh my Lordy me it really scared me. For an FS pilot I dare say I'm not too bad, but to be let loose with others I do wonder as I don't want to spoil the experience for everyone else. I'd hate to be compared to those AI pilots! Is it a welcoming place?Also does anyone have any updates on the 'Voldemort' effect issue I mentioned?

What is your traffic slider % set at? Realistic operations for FSX using default traffic is 60%. Use more than that, and you will crowd more AI aircraft into the sim than FSX is willing to handle. Maybe you see "constellations" of aircraft - groups of four or more that fly in a cluster. You will see those after every loading screen, especially the en-route ones. You may also see them taking off and landing, more likely landing. Some AI traffic add-ons that have improved scheduling will help this issue. Most are payware. The free options are to reduce your traffic slider and/or download AISmooth, as mentioned before. Aircraft will still disappear with AISmooth, but never aircraft that you can see, if that makes sense. It juggles around the aircraft that are beyond your visual range. Jeff ShylukSenior Staff ReviewerAVSIM

I started as a pilot on VATSIM many years ago with a PMDG 737. I liked it so much I ended up applying for an ATC position and and went all the way up to senior student at KDEN in a bit over a year of training until life happened and I couldn't sustain the time commitment. My instructor was a "real" ATC in the airforce and a great guy, so was everyone on the team, always trying to help.It is quite intimidating at first as a pilot, but everyone needs to start somewhere. There are a few expectations, all are easy and I have a few tips that helped me.- first, tell the ATC you've never done this before, so they give you extra assistance. Not unheard of that one of the online ATCs will setup a separate channel with you and you can just get help there. Remember, everyone wants to have an enjoyable time. - know how to operate your aircraft (you can't use the pause function or read a manual). It's poor form if you are figuring out how to control your airplane online, unless you do VFR circuits around an airport. That also works.- schedule enough time, you cannot usually use the simulation rate increases without first asking for permission, and then, it's usually not the point of flying online :) Shorten your route. My "green" route was KDEN to KSLC, takes about 1 hour.- read the FAA manuals so you'll know what rules apply. That will give you a good idea of what to do, or not, such as flying VFR in fog.- Observe. Log on and tell the ATC you're observing. Sit at a gate at different airports and tune different frequencies to hear the chatter. Make sure you file a flight plan that says "observing only" so no-one wonders why you are there.- get the charts you may need, ground control will expect you to have those. Departure and approach controllers will also expect you have them. Many centers offer their charts for free, and many government aviation agencies as well. - don't use the flight plan generated by FSX, it's useless. Use one posted online or use a flight planner that uses sids and stars. Practice it offline first.- use text for communications with online controllers first if you can - this way you don't have to process the 100 mile an hour instructions, such as, clearance information that you must repeat.- start at a small airport, progress towards larger ones. Some try uncontrolled fields first to get a taste of it, just make sure you don't wander into controlled space :)- use a worry free plane that won't give you problems the first few flights- disable failures to avoid having to declare an emergencyHope this helps,Etienne

What is your traffic slider % set at? Realistic operations for FSX using default traffic is 60%. Use more than that, and you will crowd more AI aircraft into the sim than FSX is willing to handle.

Hey there Jeff My apologies for taking so long to respond. Weekend got rather busy with taking my niece and nephew to the fair, which made one hell of dent in my wallet, but bless the wee little ones had lots of fun so that's all ok. Oh and great to meet you! :) To answer your question, my traffic sliders are set at 50%. I read that going too high brings with it some issues and I was also conscious off the amount of extra work that would put on my processor. That's the thing with FSX I find, it is always a balancing act between visuals versus performance.

I started as a pilot on VATSIM many years ago with a PMDG 737. I liked it so much I ended up applying for an ATC position and and went all the way up to senior student at KDEN in a bit over a year of training until life happened and I couldn't sustain the time commitment. My instructor was a "real" ATC in the airforce and a great guy, so was everyone on the team, always trying to help.It is quite intimidating at first as a pilot, but everyone needs to start somewhere. There are a few expectations, all are easy and I have a few tips that helped me........

Hey again Etienne Thank you so very much for the thoughtful reply and wonderful tips!! I've actually gone back to the VATSIM website after your post. Living in the UK I noticed the regional site have some great 'homework' you can do to get you prepared. I'll make work of that first I think. Secondly, I will ensure I fly the Cessna or Beech 58 when I do go on-line. They are the aircraft I am most conversant with and I've spent a lot of time setting up some great Shoot profiles for them as well which 'almost' (given a wee bit of imagination) makes me feel I have a co-pilot! I will certainly let you know how I progress and thanks again for all the great advice.Finally, I think I have figured out what is going on with those hedonistic AI pilots. It appears they take the first exit post landing they can once the have slowed down appropriately. If that happens to be the take off ramp for the day (as you might find on long runways such as La Raziet in Point-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe) then well you had better be prepared for the 'dodge waltz' if you are waiting for take off. It seems that the AI has not been programmed with enough IQ to 'see' waiting aircraft to make it choose the next exit along the runway. Thus my simplistic solution for the moment is to make a list of possible problematic airports and when there keep my second COM frequency on the tower so I can adjust my taxi accordingly. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it all pans out, should be interesting nonetheless!All the best!FM